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Pro Wrestling NOAH |
| 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, Pro Wrestling ZERO1, and Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
Contents |
In January 1999, All Japan founder and promoter Giant Baba died, leaving the company in the hands of his widow Motoko Baba as owner and Misawa as president. 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 the sport's 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 its rivals in many ways since 2005, and has managed to outdraw arch-rival New Japan Pro Wrestling 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.
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.
| Championship | Champion(s) | Defeated | Date Won | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GHC Heavyweight Championship | Kensuke Sasaki | Takeshi Morishima | September 6, 2008 | Tokyo, Japan |
| GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship | KENTA | Bryan Danielson | October 13, 2008 | Hiroshima, Japan |
| GHC Tag Team Championship | Akitoshi Saito and Bison Smith | Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura | May 23, 2008 | Niigata, Japan |
| GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship | Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Kotaro Suzuki | Taiji Ishimori and KENTA | July 13, 2008 | Tokyo, Japan |
| GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship | Makoto Hashi | Kishin Kawabata | October 6, 2008 | Isesaki, Japan |
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