Backstage News On Ninja Mack Becoming NOAH's Jr. Heavyweight Champion

This weekend saw GCW star Ninja Mack become the 50th GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion at the Pro Wrestling NOAH show on October 30 as he defeated HAYATA. It was a moment that the masked wrestler was proudly sharing clips of on social media, but according to Dave Meltzer on the latest "Wrestling Observer Radio," it was never supposed to happen. 

Champion HAYATA got legitimately hurt during the match and was unable to continue, and the split second decision was made for Mack to get the win. The injury took place after a Sunsetflip Powerbomb which led to the former champion landing badly on his shoulder. It is currently unknown what the long-term plan for the title and Mack's reign will be, nor how long HAYATA will be out of action.

In the short term, a new challenger for the title has already been determined. Mack will be facing fellow GCW regular Dante Leon on November 10th, in a rematch from their previous bout in the company this past July.

Mack had begun just making occasional appearances for Pro Wrestling NOAH in April, but the company signed him to a one-year contract, and he has been a consistent part of the junior division ever since. This is his first title run with the promotion though, and is in fact only the second of his entire career. The other came after a victory for the wXw promotion in Germany. 

Elsewhere on Sunday's show Hiroshi Tanahashi made his first appearance for the promotion in nine years, and it was revealed that WWE's Shinsuke Nakamura will be heading across to compete against The Great Muta on January 1.