Pro Wrestling Noah is essentially a continuation of AJPW'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. Throughout its 25-year history, Noah has had working relationships with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Ring of Honor (ROH), TNA (Formerly Impact Wrestling), Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), in which the latter now has a working relationship with its wrestlers from the NXT brand. In January 2020, Noah was acquired by CyberAgent, parent company of DDT Pro Wrestling. DDT's President Sanshiro Takagi was named the President of Pro Wrestling Noah and Naomichi Marufuji the Vice President.
Noah held its first shows in August 2000, and established the Global Honored Crown as the in-house governing body for its collection of championships.
Noah's events began airing on DDT's streaming service DDT Universe starting with Noah Global Jr. Pro Wrestling Sem was the junior affiliate of Pro Wrestling Noah launched in 2006. Its name came from the biblical figure Sem, the eldest son of Noah. Sem was originally headed by Naomichi Marufuji and Kenta, acting as coaches for the rookie competitors. Mitsuharu Misawa's inspiration for the venture came from the German Westside Xtreme Wrestling promotion, where he wrestled in March 2005. The seats are limited to a few hundred, so that all fans could sit close to the ring. Sem events usually took place in the Differ Ariake in Tokyo.
The Genesis of Pro Wrestling Noah
In January 1999, AJPW 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 departed the promotion on May 28, 2000 to form a new promotion called Pro Wrestling Noah. All but two native stars (Masanobu Fuchi and Toshiaki Kawada) and eight gaijin (Maunakea Mossman, Johnny Smith, George Hines, Mike Barton, Jim Steele, Mike Rotunda, Stan Hansen and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams) followed Misawa.
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 AJPW.
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The Tragic Loss of Mitsuharu Misawa
On June 13, 2009, Misawa teamed with Go Shiozaki against Akitoshi Saito and Bison Smith at Hiroshima Green Arena. After taking a belly to back suplex from Saito, Misawa lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital. On June 27, 2009, Akira Taue was named as Misawa's successor, taking over as President of Pro Wrestling Noah. JST due to spinal damage.
Evolution and Acquisitions
On February 1, 2019, Noah was purchased by Lidet Entertainment, acquiring a 75% stake in the company. This was followed the next month by the first major rebranding in company history.
The most recent season of “MONDAY MAGIC” promoted a big inter-promotional match featuring wrestlers from NOAH, New Japan, DDT and Dragongate. At the time NOSAWA Rongai acted like it would be a normal tag team match but when it was time for the main event, he surprised everyone by booking an 8-Man Tag instead.
Monday Magic is a professional wrestling television program produced by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Pro Wrestling NOAH and airs worldwide on CyberFight's streaming service Wrestle Universe. The wrestlers featured on Monday Magic took part in scripted feuds and storylines.
Monday Magic: A New Era of Wrestling
On July 16, 2023, NOAH announced that they would hold a weekly television series named "Monday Magic", which would compose of five episodes between October 9 and December 18, at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo, Japan, being streamed at CyberFight's internet streaming service Wrestle Universe and produced by Nosawa Rongai, who is also the show's Assistant Director.
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In the weeks leading to the final episode of Monday Magic, Rongai stated that the last episode of Monday Magic would be like stepping on a "landmine". He appeared at the end of the show to announce that the "landmine" he was referring to was Wrestle Magic, an event dedicated to the series to be hold on May 4, 2023 at Ryogoku Kokugikan. Rongai also announced that the series would feature a second season containing four episodes, with the season premiere being on April 1, 2024.
In the blue corner was YOSHI-HASHI from NJPW, KAI from DG, Akito from DDT and Daiki Inaba from NOAH. Facing them from the red corner was NOAH’s Kaito Kiyomiya, NJPW’s Ryohei Oiwa, DDT’s Yuki Ueno and DG’s Yuki Yoshioka. Apparently the point of this match was to gather together two teams of wrestlers from two generations into the same magic wrestling ring.
Some of the wrestlers were happy to interact with each other for the first time since the “ALL TOGETHER” shows last year. But Kiyomiya said this generation do not need magic to make the pro wrestling world advance forward. Are they called TEAM 2000X because their main events are booked liked WCW from the year 2000?
Key Figures in NOAH
Here's a glimpse into some of the key figures in Pro Wrestling NOAH:
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| Name | Date of Birth | Affiliation | Title History | Comments & Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenoh | January 1, 1985 | Noah (2015 ~) | GHC Heavyweight, GHC National, GHC Heavyweight Tag, GHC Junior Tag, World Tag, Twin Gate, Tohoku Junior | Opened "Kenoh Channel" on YouTube in April 2022; teamed with Kiyomiya to form ALL REBELLION in May 2024. |
| Naomichi Marufuji | September 26, 1979 | Noah (2000 - ) | GHC Heavyweight, GHC Junior & Heavyweight tag, GHC Junior, KO-D Tag, WEW tag, IWGP junior, GHC openweight, World Junior | The symbol of the Ark. In June 2012, he and Sugiura won the GHC Tag Team Championship. |
| Takashi Sugiura | May 31, 1970 | Noah (2000 - ) | GHC Heavyweight, GHC National, GHC Heavyweight tag, GHC Junior, GHC Junior Tag, GHC Cabaret Club, World Heavyweight, NWA Intercontinental Tag | A mainstay of Noah. In January 2024, he was Ulka's opponent in his debut match, and participated in the VC Tag League with Ulka from February to March. In June, he won the GHC Tag Team Championship with Marufuji. |
| Ulka Sasaki | October 7, 1989 | Noah (2023 - ) | GHC National | He made his MMA debut in April 2010. After a successful career in Japan, he signed with UFC in 2014. He made his first appearance in RIZIN in 2018. He made a name for himself mainly in the top ranks of the featherweight division. After training at the Noah Dojo, he made his pro wrestling debut in January 2012 and showed great talent. In July, he defeated HAYATA to take the GHC National. He is scheduled to face Shinsuke Nakamura at the Nippon Budokan on January 1st 2025. |
These are just a few of the many talented individuals who have contributed to the rich history of Pro Wrestling NOAH.