(NOAH) Why I Decided to Follow Mitsuharu Misawa: The Launch of the New Promotion "Pro Wrestling Noah"
Weekly Pro 8th September 2026 (Article by Akira Taue) "After Giant Baba passed away in January 1999, there was uncertainty about the company's future, but under Motoko Baba's direction, a plan was finalized to make Mitsuharu Misawa the president. I felt sorry for Misawa, though. Motoko Baba—despite technically holding a lower-ranking executive position—held the real power. Even though he was the president, he was always having to kowtow to her. At gatherings, she’d suddenly put him on the spot, telling him, "Give a speech." There were plenty of spiteful little things like that. I think Misawa was pretty fed up. After all, Motoko was a major shareholder and the widow of the previous president. More than anything, the Babas had acted as the matchmakers for Misawa and his wife, so he couldn't exactly go against them, you know? That was likely a factor, though there were plenty of other little things involved—I don't know the full details. Even though I becam...
