Pro Wrestling NOAH
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| Pro-Wrestling NOAH | |
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| Details | |
| Acronym | NOAH |
| Established | 2000 |
| Style | Modified King's Road (Ark Style) |
| Location | Japan |
| Founder(s) | Mitsuharu Misawa |
| Owner(s) | Mitsuharu Misawa |
Pro-Wrestling NOAH is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling ace Mitsuharu Misawa. NOAH is broadcast weekly in Japan, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom on The Fight Network. NOAH has working agreements with Ring of Honor, World League Wrestling, westside Xtreme wrestling and Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX and Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
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[edit] History
In January 1999, All Japan founder and promoter Giant Baba died, leaving All Japan Pro Wrestling in the hands of promotion ace Mitsuharu Misawa. However, disheartened with Motoko Baba's proposed direction for the company, Misawa would depart the promotion on May 28, 2000 to form a new promotion called Pro Wrestling NOAH. With Misawa followed all but two native stars (Masanobu Fuchi and Toshiaki Kawada being the only hold-outs), and is considered to be one of the biggest exoduses of talent in professional wrestling history. This was made possible because of AJPW's annual contract negotiation process which meant all wrestlers were signed to new contracts every April.
Pro-Wrestling NOAH is essentially a continuation of All Japan's promotional system in the 1990s, with a slight leeway to allow wrestlers from other promotions to compete, which is something that Giant Baba had forbid. NOAH also features a strong junior heavyweight division, which was something that All Japan had been relatively lacking in the 1990s due to lack of pushes for the younger stars (such as Yoshinobu Kanemaru, KENTA and Naomichi Marufuji, who quickly became NOAH's junior aces).
Despite not being considered the #1 promotion in Japan, NOAH has been able to outdo their rivals in many ways since 2005, and has managed to outdraw NJPW in several key places (such as the Tokyo Dome). Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer rates Pro Wrestling NOAH's bouts amongst the highest out of all wrestling promotions. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi from March 1, 2003, and Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama from July 10, 2004, were both given Five-Stars in the Wrestling Observer, as well as being awarded as the best matches from their respective years. The Wrestling Observer also named NOAH as the best promotion in 2004 and 2005, as well as having the best weekly television show in 2003.
[edit] Symbolism
The promotion's name alludes to the Biblical story of Noah, in which the people and animals in the ark survive the flood and make a new beginning in the world, a story which was seen as a parallel to the wrestlers' departure from All Japan. NOAH's promotional symbol, an ark with a dove holding an olive branch, refers to this.
A spinoff league called Pro Wrestling SEM was recently launched. Similar to NJPW's "Young Lions" system, it will function as a training facility for rookies, with Naomichi Marufuji and KENTA acting as trainers. Pro Wrestling SEM is also a reference to the Biblical story of Noah, with Sem being Noah's eldest son.
[edit] Roster and Titles Promoted
- Main article: Pro Wrestling NOAH roster
| Championship | Champion(s) | Defeated | Date Won | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GHC Heavyweight Championship | Takeshi Morishima | Mitsuharu Misawa | March 2, 2008 | Tokyo, Japan |
| GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship | Yoshinobu Kanemaru | Mushiking Terry | October 27, 2007 | Tokyo, Japan |
| GHC Tag Team Championship | Akitoshi Saito and Bison Smith | Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura | May 23, 2008 | Niigata City, Japan |
| GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship | Taiji Ishimori and KENTA | BxB Hulk and Shingo Takagi | March 20, 2008 | Tokyo, Japan |
| GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship | Kishin Kawabata | Kentaro Shiga | November 19, 2007 | Niigata City, Japan |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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