(NOAH) Inside report: The Ark's New System, interview with Noah's new president Akihiro Takeda

Weekly Pro
July 2019

The new president will make good use of his 23 years know-how of rich industry experience, with LIDET ENTERTAINMENT as the parent company. A few months have passed now since the launch of the new system, with the Yosuke Fuwa (the President and CEO of Noah Global Entertainment), resigning on May 3rd. Takeda Narihiro, has been appointed the as managing director, with Hiroyuki Suzuki, who is the President of LIDET, the owner of Noah. Takeda, who is also the managing director of LIDET, will concurrently serve as Noah's president, but after the transition to the new system, the owner will be entrusted with actually managing Noah. For this reason, it can be said that Takeda will be the leader of Noah, both in name and in reality, and will be in a position to lead the promotion. As the owner, Suzuki explains the reasons for this personnel change as follows;

"As planned from the beginning, after taking over from the former president, we are now embracing the ups and downs of the promotion, and officially Takeda has entered at the top. I will be responsible for both the wrestlers and finance, with Takeda in the division of general box office, the division of work for PR is to be decided. I had the system broken down to make it stronger"

The change of president has no negative elements, and the formation is as planned..no, it would be correct to say as planned. Originally, Suzuki evaluated Takeda's abilities against LIDET, and when they became the parent company of Noah, Takeda's system was the existing policy.

"Essentially, I wanted Takeda to be a good president and chief executive officer. Now that there is no one in between, the money can be entrusted to me, and I asked Takeda to enter the company as President, and as Representative Director, I will guarantee the money."

Under the deep confidence of the owner, Takeda became the president, originally as an employee of New Japan, he had joined the company in 1995. After two years he left with Keiji Mutoh and entered All Japan, leaving four years later. In 2016 he returned to New Japan and supported them during the time that the promotion was recovering from what has been called "The Dark Period". After leaving New Japan he entered a free period before joining SP Advertising, who were LIDET'S predecessors, and he worked along many pro wrestling lines. LIDET became Noah's parent company, and Takeda is fully involved in the operation.
From June, Suzuki decided that "it is best that Takeda is head of Noah", and without fear, the new president of The Ark is born.

"What I do isn't really that different, the titles are different though with the owner, Suzuki, being the CEO (Chief Operating Officer) and me being the COO (Chief Operating Officer), and this is a position that I will execute im the form of the vision of the CEO. If the cogs turn well, then Noah will get even better".

President Takeda has experienced both the good times and the bad times of promotions while working behind the scenes, and he has a wealth of experience and know-how, and this is a big asset in leading Noah.

"I was at New Japan, left for All Japan with Mutoh, and then came back again. I know how it works, its like a car. I was in New Japan during the era of President Seiji Sakaguchi and the era of Naoki Sugabayashi. When YUKES and Bushiroad arrived, the management vision that came out of the scene was good. A puroresu promotion can work, as long as the car does not go crazy. It is important to handle the vision that is given. That is the Sports Entertainment industry".
From the standpoint of the owner, he is looking 5 to 10 years ahead, but Takeda's role is to "put this together one week to one month later". That is his role, and creating a business for that is important.

"From the start, Noah have always had profitable matches. Also, if you have the ability, the method to show it, and the marketing, you have to be able to recruit to secure good human resources. At present in New Japan, both the wrestlers, the front of house and attendance combined are there, and I think this is a chance for Noah, who has fewer employees, to take a chance. New talent is something I always keep in mind. What kind of business will we show in the future?"

Creating such a team is not something that can be seen by fans, and there is an urgent need to get Takeda's Noah on track. Then they have to resolve the issues of an organisation, one by one.

"The simple fact is that you have to increase sales. While tickets are selling, New Japan are at this time able to do that with video subscription. If we do not make this third pillar firm, then Noah will change only because of its income. There are alot of negotiations to be done, and it is important that a fixed amount of money come in every month. Since we do not now know how much money the box office will make until it is over, we have to make new sales, and doing that will increase it overall".

With a long history of being involved with New Japan for a while, in light of the current situation in the world of Japanese Pro Wrestling, Takeda says that the name of "New Japan" is often used as an inevitable comparison. However, with the system of President Takeda in place, it is expected that the criticism of "copying New Japan", that Kenoh has always claimed, will become more distinct, but this does not phase Takeda.

"When I was in New Japan, I incorporated the good points of other companies in, so New Japan took good things from various genres. Wrestling fans might be watching New Japan the most recently. I don't really care, because the sports business does things other than New Japan."
There will be a pause in this for the Misawa Memorial show this year.

Although the subject of the true value of President Takeda is by no means small, his first order is 2nd November at Sumo Hall. He is now seeing new routes that will make Noah better, and more enjoyable for fans. The expectations of President Takeda from the wrestlers, is not small either.

I feel the response of, "I want to do it in this way".

At Korakuen Hall and in Osaka, the audience at the "Mitsuharu Misawa Memorial" were strong, and in the summer, the junior single matches started. Takeda shares his opinion on Misawa's memorial next year;

"It has been ten years, so there will be a break for now. I will consult with the family for the 13th anniversary. The two events held this year were wonderful, but I saw the form as relying on the show, rather than on Misawa."

In a sense, Misawa's memorial is guaranteed to attract more customers than regular tournaments, but if it is relied on, you cannot move on. After raising "Leaving Misawa" at the start of the new system and saying goodbye to the green mat, this decision is inevitable.
Speaking of a recent event in Puro, former Noah wrestler, KENTA, has decided to enter New Japan. It was not just Noah fans who were shocked by this choice. However, NOAH has not yet been expecting KENTA'S triumphant return, so there was no need for Takeda to take into account the power of KENTA'S into the reconstruction of Noah, so it won't have a big impact.

"The fans have many opinions, but now is not the right time. The wrestlers who have worked hard since the hard times, can finally get a sense of fulfillment in the ring. I can feel the frustrations of the Noah fans, but I don't know what the world of Pro Wrestling holds (i.e. the possibility of KENTA'S participation), and I don't know about the future."

Noah has already started as a new system, but it is a substantial Takeda, who is leading from the front, who is shouldering as president (rough). "The true system" starts anew. The destination they are aiming for will also be the true form of the promotion.

"Following the path of Inoki and Baba, Noah is definitely Baba in the Japanese Professional Wrestling World. Misawa learned from Baba, and Marufuji learned from Misawa. Whether is is a major or just a venture, the flow in the ring should be aiming for a venture. There was a time when this was a bit out of place, but I think that if you aim for a major purpose, I think it will improve if you do it yourself."

The new system is a true system, and the first culmination will be the main winner of the day on the 2nd November Sumo Hall ring, but outside the ring, it will be an important event where President Takeda's real value will be shared.