Pro Wrestling NOAH

Pro Wrestling NOAH is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 2000 by Mitsuharu Misawa, one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). After AJPW founder Giant Baba died in January 1999, his widow, Motoko Baba, took over ownership of the company.

Misawa, who had been serving as president, clashed with her over the direction of the promotion and ultimately chose to leave. When he did, 24 of AJPW’s 26 contracted wrestlers followed him out the door. Only Toshiaki Kawada and Masanobu Fuchi stayed behind.

The promotion’s name was inspired by the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark, where survivors of a great flood start a new life in a new world. Misawa and his wrestlers saw themselves in a similar light, leaving All Japan behind to build something fresh. The company logo features an ark with a dove carrying an olive branch, tying back to that same theme.

NOAH held its first shows in August 2000 and quickly established itself as a major force in Japanese wrestling. The promotion carried forward the hard-hitting “King’s Road” style that had defined 1990s AJPW, while also opening the door for wrestlers from other promotions to appear on NOAH cards. This was something Giant Baba had never allowed. 

NOAH also invested heavily in its junior heavyweight division, elevating talents like KENTA, Naomichi Marufuji, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru into featured roles.

The promotion’s peak came in the early to mid-2000s. The Wrestling Observer named NOAH the best promotion in the world in both 2004 and 2005. With legendary performers like Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, Akira Taue, and Jun Akiyama anchoring the main event scene, NOAH produced some of the most critically acclaimed matches of the decade. The promotion held a weekly television slot on Nippon TV and drew strong crowds throughout Japan.

As the decade wore on, however, NOAH struggled to develop new main event stars who could replace the aging founders. Kobashi battled cancer, Misawa’s body was breaking down after decades of brutal matches, and younger talents never quite captured the same level of fan devotion. By the late 2000s, Misawa was still wrestling on nearly every card to keep the promotion afloat.

On June 13, 2009, tragedy struck when Misawa died from spinal damage after taking a suplex during a tag team match at Hiroshima Green Arena. His death shook the entire wrestling world and left NOAH without its founder and biggest draw. Akira Taue was named as his successor and took over as president.

The years that followed were extremely difficult. NOAH lost its weekly television show on Nippon TV in 2009. In 2012, it was revealed that members of NOAH’s management had ties to the yakuza, which led to further loss of television exposure and public trust. A wave of talent departures followed, including KENTA leaving for WWE in 2014 and NJPW pulling all of its wrestlers from NOAH at the end of 2016.

The promotion changed ownership several times. Lidet Entertainment purchased NOAH in early 2019 and undertook a major rebranding that included a new logo and replacing the iconic green ring mat with white canvas. Then in January 2020, CyberAgent purchased the company. CyberAgent also owned DDT Pro-Wrestling, and DDT’s executives took over NOAH’s operations. NOAH’s content became available on DDT’s streaming service, Wrestle Universe.

The CyberAgent era has brought much-needed stability. NOAH continues to run regular events and has maintained working relationships with promotions around the world, including NJPW, AJPW, Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, AEW, and WWE through the NXT brand. 

The promotion’s championships are governed under the Global Honored Crown banner, with the GHC Heavyweight Championship standing as the top prize. In October 2024, NOAH introduced the GHC Women’s Championship, the first women’s title in the promotion’s 25-year history.

NOAH’s story is one of the most dramatic in wrestling. It was born from loyalty and ambition, reached extraordinary heights in its first decade, endured devastating loss and decline, and continues to fight for relevance under new ownership while honoring the legacy of Mitsuharu Misawa.