Pro Wrestling NOAH is a Japanese pro wrestling promotion that I have considered to be the #3 promotion in Japan. It was formed in 2000 by Japanese wrestler Mitsuharu Misawa after he left All-Japan Pro Wrestling in the late 1990s, taking the majority of the roster at the time with him. The promotion’s original logo featured an ark in the style of the classic biblical tale “Noah’s Ark” in his vision to become the ark of the pro wrestling world.
The voyage has been difficult at times, starting in 2011 when Misawa died after suffering a medical emergency during a match when taking a finishing move triggered an undiagnosed condition resulting an an aneurysm that left Misawa paralyzed in the ring. He died a few hours later. The promotion then continued on under the leadership of wrestlers Akira Taue, Naomichi Marufuji and others while honoring Misawa’s legacy and holding an annual tribute event.
The promotion is currently owned by CyberFight Corporation, a Japanese company specializing in cybersecurity & internet security, which also owns The DDT Group of promotions (independent promotion DDT and its various sub-brands). This helps with finances for the promotion and allows fans worldwide to watch events on DDT’s streaming service, WRESTLE UNIVERSE. In Japan, events also are sometimes streamed on ABEMA, a popular free & paid streaming service only available in Japan. Some ABEMA events are simulcast on WRESTLE UNIVERSE with English commentary for fans outside Japan. Marufuji remains an Executive Vice President of NOAH in addition to one of its top wrestlers. In addition, the promotion shares talent with other promotions in Japan, most notably with Kobe-based Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling, and boasts one of the more exciting Jr. Heavyweight divisions in Japan centered around faction warfare.
In 2021 the promotion changed their logo to the one pictured above to represent a new vision and new look for the promotion’s 20th Anniversary. In late 2021 the promotion also was given a new theme song: “Voyage”, written and performed by Japanese musician Funky Kato, also a noted fan of NOAH. The video is played at the end of TV broadcasts.
Pro Wrestling NOAH’s championships are referred to as Global Honored Crowns, or GHC Championships. The promotion has 5 titles: Heavyweight, National, Jr. Heavyweight, Heavyweight Tag Team and Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team. A 6th title, GHC Hardcore, that existed until being declared inactive/defunct in the 2010s, was reactivated in October 2023. A 7th title, GHC Women’s, was introduced in October 2024.
Current roster:
Alejandro
Daiki Inaba (Inactive-injured)
Yoshiki Inamura (currently with WWE)
Hajime Ohara
Kaito Kiyomiya
Kenoh
Atsushi Kotoge
Akitoshi Saito (Retired)
Go Shiozaki
Takashi Sugiura
Manabu Soya
Tadasuke
Shuhei Taniguchi
Hi69 (HIROKI) (Inactive-injured)
HAYATA
Kazuyuki Fujita
Kai Fujimura
Masa Kitamiya
Naomichi Marufuji
Junta Miyawaki
Mohammed Yone
YO-HEY
Eita
Kendo Ka Shin (appears occasionally)
Kazushi Sakuraba (appears occasionally)
Hideki Suzuki (appears occasionally)
Daisuke Nakamura (appears occasionally)
Masakatsu Funaki (appears occasionally)
Kazunari Murakami (Big Mouth Loud)
Masato Tanaka (Pro Wrestling ZERO1)
Jack Morris
Anthony Greene
Dragon Bane
Alpha Wolf
Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
Taishi Ozawa (now OZAWA)
Yu Owada
Titles & History:
GHC Heavyweight Championship
GHC National Championship
GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship
GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
GHC Hardcore Championship
GHC Women’s Championship
How to watch:
In Japan: ABEMA streams some events including exclusive live broadcasts in Japanese. The service generally is not available outside Japan.
In the US and elsewhere including Japan: WRESTLE UNIVERSE (www.wrestleuniverse.com). Available worldwide for the equivalent of 1298 Japanese yen per month (currently around $9). Broadcasts most events live, with all events available on demand either immediately or within 3-4 days of the event (sometimes longer waits for ABEMA exclusive broadcasts). Some events have Japanese commentary, select major events & ABEMA exclusives have English commentary. A few events have no commentary at all. The service launched a mobile app in early 2022 for iPhone and Android devices, recreating the service’s website experience and allowing you to easily watch on the go. The app should be available worldwide and is also available in US app stores.
The promotion also has two YouTube channels (one primarily in Japanese, one in English) featuring match highlights, commercials, free full matches from prior events, occasional free live broadcasts of the beginning of events, and episodes of a special series called NOAH THE HOME, which allows fans to watch matches filmed at the NOAH Dojo featuring the younger, less experienced talent in closed venue matches. The show was launched during the coronavirus pandemic and has run for about 20 total episodes so far.
Official website: https://www.noah.co.jp/
