Summary

Shane Haste is heading back to Pro Wrestling NOAH, and he is returning straight into the GHC Heavyweight Championship picture.

The title match was set after Yoshiki Inamura retained the GHC Heavyweight Title against Alpha Wolf in the main event of NOAH's Apex Conquest show on April 12. Before the defense, Inamura addressed KENTA's earlier comments about bringing in someone with WWE experience to challenge for the belt. After the match, that challenger was revealed to be Haste, and the bout with Inamura was made official for May 2.

Haste's history with NOAH

Haste is not arriving as an outsider with no connection to the promotion. He previously spent six years in NOAH, where he teamed with Mikey Nicholls as part of TMDK. The pair became two-time GHC Tag Team Champions, and their first reign lasted more than 200 days.

After that run, Haste and Nicholls signed with WWE in 2016. Nicholls left the company in 2018, while Haste remained there until his release in November 2021. During that stint, he also appeared as SLAPJACK in RETRIBUTION.

What this means for Yoshiki Inamura and the GHC title

Inamura's next defense now carries a little more weight because NOAH is pairing its champion with a returning name who already has history in the company and experience on a larger stage. That gives the May 2 match a different feel than a standard next-challenger announcement.

It also gives Haste an immediate chance to re-establish himself in NOAH at the top of the card instead of rebuilding lower down the ladder. For Inamura, beating a former NOAH tag champion with international name recognition would strengthen his title run in a meaningful way.

Sources

As reported by Fightful.