(NOAH) Roster Guide 2021

Introduction

Hello and welcome to "The Green Guide to the Pro Wrestling Noah Roster (April 2021)".

I hope this guide will give newer fans an idea of who is who and who does what and who came from where, and for the older fans it may either serve as a refresher, an update should they be coming back to Noah after a period of time and may not recognize new faces, or just as a simple read. 

I want to concentrate more on who is who on the roster, so I have left out any mention of current feuds or past or present title holders.

Note about the generations of Noah which can be a grey era especially when the Misawa\Golden & Mid generation overlap. 

I have included some of the roster into this, although they were not in Noah at that time to show where they fit in concerning its generations.

• Veteran generation (those who wrestled in New Japan or All Japan during the 80s and 90s. Usually debuted from the early 80s to the early to mid 1990s)
  
  
• Misawa generation\Golden Era generation (usually those who walked out of All Japan with Mitsuharu Misawa having debuted in the late 90s, and\or debuted in and\or wrestled in Noah from 2000-2004)
  
  
• Mid generation (usually in their early to mid thirties and debuted c.2004 - 2011) 
  
  
• New generation (those who didn't know Misawa, but have come to Noah from about 2013 onwards, sometimes called "The last generation at Differ" or "the children of the Turbulent Era")

Contracted roster

Akitoshi Saito

"Wild Cat Heart"

Era: Veteran Generation

Background: Pioneer Senshi, New Japan, W*ng

Debuted: December 20th 1990, Pioneer Senshi

Class: Heavyweight

Likes: Cars, cats (sadly his big white fluffy cat passed away recently), swimming, drinking, pushing around Masao Inoue

Dislikes: Having to give up his "Dark Agent" soul to "be funky", but a promise is a promise.

Affiliation: Funky Express

Nicknames: "Aki" (Funky Express)

Finishers & Special Moves: Deathbrand, Suicludees

Atsushi Kotoge

"Revolutionary Traveler"  

Era: Mid Generation

Background: Osaka Pro

Debuted: April 29th 2005, Osaka Pro

Class: Junior Heavyweight

Likes: Running, playing drums, horse racing

Dislikes: Probably Daisuke Harada

Affiliation: Momo No Seishun

Nicknames: None

Finishers & Special Moves: Killswitch 

Daisuke Harada

"Young Master"

Era: Mid Generation

Background: Osaka Pro

Debuted: August 5th 2006, Osaka Pro

Class: Junior Heavyweight

Likes: Ice cream, milkshakes, croquettes from the family business in Osaka the "Harada Butcher Shop", and squabbling with his older brother, Akio, on Twitter.

Dislikes: His older brother Akio, probably Atsushi Kotoge, Yoshinari Ogawa, Naomichi Marufuji, Kenoh (who describes their relationship as "snake and scorpion")

Affiliation: Momo No Seishun

Nicknames: None

Finishers & Special Moves: Katayama German Suplex, Diving Elbow Drop

Go Shiozaki

"Strong Arm"

Era: Late Golden Era\Mid Generation

Background: Noah born

Debuted: July 24th 2004

Class: Heavyweight

Likes: Giggling, has a "chop competition" with Naomichi Marufuji, capacity for spicy foods

Dislikes: Unfair fights, people ganging up on others  

Affiliation: None, but tends to team with other Noah born such as Kaito Kiyomiya and Yoshiki Inamura

Nicknames: "Shio" (in Noah)

Finishers & Special Moves: Machine Gun Chops, Go Flasher, Moonsault, Gowan Lariat

Hajime Ohara

"Mui Bien"

Era: Mid Generation

Background: Toryumon

Debuted: May 13th 2004, Toryumon 

Class: Junior Heavyweight

Likes: Cooking, teaching, those Christmas jumpers

Dislikes: Smoking

Affiliation: FULL THROTTLE

Nicknames: "The Leader" (FULL THROTTLE)

Finishers & Special Moves: Mui Bien, Finnish Forearm 

Haoh

"Super Awakening"

Era: Mid Generation

Background: SUPER CREW, KAIENTAI Dojo, 2AW 

Debuted: October 22nd 2005, SUPER CREW

Class: Junior Heavyweight

Likes: Curry, Iced Coffee, Pachinko

Dislikes: Everyone in Noah aside from Kongoh, Noah management (he's in Kongoh)

Affiliation: Kongoh

Nicknames: None

Finishers & Special Moves: Firebird Splash

HAYATA

"Silence of Darkness"

Era: Mid Generation

Background: WrestleGate, Dove, Osaka Pro

Debuted: July 30th 2006, WrestleGate

Class: Junior Heavyweight 

Likes: Smoking, skateboarding, avoiding people, Super Mario Maker, computer games, animals

Dislikes: Bees, practically any food other than chips, meeting people, being photographed, cameras, speaking

Affilitation: STINGER

Nicknames: None

Finishers & Special Moves: Moonsault, Crossfix, Headache, 403 Impact

Hitoshi Kumano

"Growing Bear"

Era: New Generation

Background: Noah born

Debuted: February 9th 2013

Class: Junior Heavyweight

Likes: Dogs

Dislikes: Kotaro Suzuki   

Affiliation: None currently (he has been on the injured list since mid 2020 as he needs an eye operation)

Nicknames: "Kuma-san" (lit Mr Bear)

Finishers & Special Moves: Argentina Backbreaker, Bear Bottom

Junta Miyawaki

"Orange Riot"

Era: New Generation

Background: Noah born

Debuted: August 12th 2017

Class: Junior Heavyweight

Likes: Eating, 70s punk

Dislikes: When his seniors practice new moves on him, people not giving him a chance 

Affiliation: Momo No Seishun

Nicknames: None

Finishers & Special Moves: Dropkick, Kimura Lock

Kaito Kiyomiya

"SuperNova"

Era: New Generation (the poster boy of it)

Background: Noah born

Debuted: December 9th 2015

Class: Heavyweight

Likes: Jazz, tomatoes, computer games (especially war), BB Guns

Dislikes: Kenoh 

Affiliation: Has a team which can be roughly called "NEW HOPE", which is basically himself, Yoshiki Inamura and Go Shiozaki.

Nicknames: Noah's Prince

Finishers & Special Moves: Tiger Suplex, Stretch Plum Face Lock

Katsuhiko Nakajima

"Kick King"

Era: Late Golden Era Noah\Mid Generation

Background: Kensuke Office 

Debuted: January 5th 2004

Class: Heavyweight

Likes: Kicking people in the face, sarcasm, being rude to his seniors

Dislikes: Go Shiozaki, Noah seniors  

Affiliation: Kongoh\THE AGGRESSION (tag with Masa Kitamiya)

Nicknames: "Katchan" (fans)

Finishers & Special Moves: Shutter Chance, Vertical Spike, Soccer Ball Kicks

Keiji Mutoh

"Wrestling Master"

Era: Veteran generation

Background: New Japan

Debuted: October 5th 1984 

Class: Heavyweight

Likes: Drinking Sake  

Dislikes: The perpetual thorn in side, Kaito Kiyomiya

Affiliation: The M's alliance

Nicknames: None

Finishers & Special Moves: Shining Wizard

Kenoh

"Violent Fist"

Era: Mid Generation

Background: Michinoku Pro

Debuted: March 2nd 2008

Class: Heavyweight

Likes: Snorkeling, Okinawa, Orion beer, yelling loudly

Dislikes: Noah's management (in particular Naomichi Marufuji and Sanshiro Takagi), Weekly Pro, Kaito Kiyomiya, Kaito Kiyomiya dating, the very mention of "CyberFest 2021", KENTA, The Sugiura Army, all of DDT

Affiliation: Kongoh

Nicknames: None

Finishers & Special Moves: PFS, Ankle lock

Kinya Okada

"Infinity Beast Warrior"

Era: New Generation 

Background: Noah born

Debuted: December 7th 2018

Class: Heavyweight

Likes: Anime, BB Guns, Showa era wrestling, small animals 

Dislikes: Losing to Yoshiki Inamura, who he still has not defeated 

Affiliation: None. He is a lone wolf. 

Nicknames: "Okakin" (fan nickname), "Chunky" (roster)

Finishers & Special Moves: Various kick techniques

Manabu Soya

Era: Mid Generation

Background: MUGA

Debuted: April 11th 2007

Class: Heavyweight

Likes: Hoss fighting, eating fish

Dislikes: Everything and pretty much everyone. He's in Kongoh.

Affiliation: Kongoh

Nicknames: None

Finishers & Special Moves: Ballistic, Death Valley Bomb

Masa Kitamiya

"Go For Broke"

Era: Mid Generation

Background: Diamond Ring

Debuted: September 25th 2011

Class: Heavyweight

Likes: Watching MC battles, eating steak and drinking beer

Dislikes: Old veteran wrestlers holding titles

Affiliation: Kongoh\THE AGGRESSION (tag with Katsuhiko Nakajima)

Nicknames: "Kitty" (Fan nickname, gaijin)

Finishers & Special Moves: Saito Slam, Prison Lock

Mohammed Yone

 "Mr Afro" 

Era: Golden Era

Background: Fujiwara Gumi, BattlArts, Rings

Debuted: 18th August 1995

Class: Heavyweight

Likes: Disco, rabbits, cooking

Affiliation: Funky Energy

Nicknames: None

Finishers & Special Moves: Kiniku Meat Buster

Naomichi Marufuji

"Noah's Genius" or more commonly "The Genius of The Ark"

Era: Golden Era

Background: All Japan

Debuted: 28th August, 1998

Class: Heavyweight

Likes: Drawing, Shiranui Curry, sneakers, collecting figurines, winding the younger wrestlers up, wrestling junior heavyweights

Dislikes: Daisuke Harada not following him on Twitter, being ignored

Affiliation: The M's alliance

Nicknames: Maru (mainly gaijin), Mitsuharu Misawa and Jumbo Tsuruta used to call him "Fujimaru", in Noah he is known as "Michi-san" (Mr. Michi), Kenoh when being rude calls him "Marufuji-kun".

Finishers & Special Moves: Shiranui, True Tiger King, Perfect Key Lock, Pure Tiger King

Nioh

"Super Butoh"*

Era: Golden Era

Background: Michinoku Pro

Debuted: November 19th 2000

Class: Junior Heavyweight

Likes: Pandas, drinking Sake, roasted and raw meat

Dislikes: Pretty much any other junior heavyweight who has the capacity to enjoy themselves...and most likely remembering that time in "Osaka Mixture" with a very drunk YO-HEY...

Affiliation: Kongoh

Nicknames: None

Finishers & Special Moves: Stuka Splash, Michinoku Driver β, Trance Rave

*This is hard to explain in English as "Butoh" is a Japanese dance theatre which cannot be classified into one category unlike other dance forms which can be said to be "traditional" or "contemporary" etc. It can be described though as a focus on individual artistic technique, which is what could apply to Nioh. 

NOSAWA Rongai

Era: Misawa Generation\Golden Era

Background: Pro Wrestling Crusade

Debuted: December 27th 1995

Class: Junior Heavyweight

Likes: Dogs, drinking

Dislikes: Takashi Sugiura making him do shoulder tackles against heavyweights

Affiliation: The Sugiura Army, in the junior division he teams with Kotaro Suzuki and Ikuto Hidaka.

Nicknames: None

Finishers & Special Moves: La Magistral, trademark sneak and flash wins

Seiki Yoshioka

Era: Mid Generation

Background: WrestleGate

Debuted: October 5th 2008

Class: Junior Heavyweight

Likes: Manga, Mahjong, bowling, Muscat wine

Dislikes: Atsushi Kotoge ditching FULL THROTTLE, when announce tables get in the way of moonsaults and commentators call you an asshole.

Affiliation: FULL THROTTLE

Nicknames: None

Finishers & Special Moves: Crash Driver, various kicking techniques 

Shuhei Taniguchi

"The Last Wyvern"

Era: Late Golden Era\Mid Generation

Background: Noah born

Debuted: December 24th 2005

Class: Heavyweight

Likes: Sushi, drinking alone at bars, grilled meat, pancakes

Dislikes: It's hard to know what Taniguchi doesn't like

Affiliation: Funky Alliance

Nicknames: "Tani", 

Finishers & Special Moves: Zwei bomb, Big splash, Wyvern Clutch

Tadasuke

"The Outcast" 

Era: Mid Generation

Background: Osaka Pro, Dove

Debuted: April 29th 2007, Osaka Pro

Class: Junior Heavyweight

Likes: Getting drunk, Studio Ghibli, reading, testing his strength against heavyweights (Tadasuke is a junior who wrestles as a heavyweight) 

Dislikes: People messing up his entrance which makes him grumpy, streamers hitting him in the face, being told by Daisuke Harada that he was the "4th in RATELS"

Affiliation: Kongoh

Nicknames: "Dasuke" (Japanese fans), "Tada" (gaijin fans)

Finishers & Special Moves: Outcast, 2PAC

Takashi Sugiura

"KILLING MACHINE"

Era: Golden Era

Background: All Japan, mainly Noah (trained in All Japan, debuted in Noah)

Class: Heavyweight

Likes: Dogs, RnB, pornography, stalking Masao Inoue and posting him at the urinal to his Twitter, telling people who don't know who he is that he is a pornstar, teasing Inoue and Taniguchi about having gout, teasing bald or balding men.  

Dislikes: Paying for Kazushi Sakuraba at the bar when he claims he "forgot his wallet", Kendo Kashin, wearing clothes

Affiliation: The Sugiura Army

Nicknames: Sugi (Fans), Sugi-chan (Noah, mainly used by Naomichi Marufuji), "King Shame" (Tokyo Sports), "The Boss" (NOSAWA Rongai), Model T-5000 (SkyNet)

Finishers & Special Moves: Olympic Slam, Ankle lock, Front neck choke

Yasutaka Yano

"Blue Hope"

Era: New generation

Background: Noah born

Debuted: August 10th 2000

Class: Junior heavyweight

Likes: Drawing, Kotaro Suzuki is his hero

Dislikes: Not known

Affiliation: None, he's still a rookie, but tends to team with Kai Fujimura a lot.

Nicknames: "Yasu-san"

Finishers & Special Moves: Diving body attack, dropkick, showing promise as a technician

YO-HEY

"Flying Playboy"

Era: Mid generation

Background: DragonGate, Osaka Pro, Dove

Debuted: December 22nd 2008

Class: Junior Heavyweight

Likes: Sleeping while listening to ghost stories, cold soba noodles

Dislikes: Driving in Osaka 

Affiliation: FULL THROTTLE

Nicknames: "YO-HEY-chan" (himself, fans)

Finishers & Special Moves: Gamen G, Super Facial G, dropkick, chops

Yoshiki Inamura

"Great Rush" (translates roughly as someone of great talent who is forging ahead)

Era: New Generation

Background: Noah born

Debuted: September 2nd 2018

Class: Heavyweight

Likes: Animals, reptiles, strongman style training with tyres, anime, fried rice, subculture, sumo

Dislikes: Has a simmering rivalry with Kinya Okada

Affiliation: The next generation of Noah with Kaito Kiyomiya

Nicknames: "Tyre Monster"

Finishers & Special Moves: Musou, GEKITOZ, Oklahoma Slam, Splash Mountain

Yoshinari Ogawa

"The Lonely Technician"

Era: Misawa Generation

Background: All Japan

Debuted: September 3rd 1985 

Class: Junior Heavyweight

Likes: Fish, watching films, avoiding people

Dislikes: Kotaro Suzuki, NOSAWA Rongai, Daisuke Harada

Affiliation: STINGER

Nicknames: "Ratboy" (Fans)

Finishers & Special Moves: Various nasty submission moves

Regular freelancers

Ikuto Hidaka (teams with NOSAWA Rongai and Kotaro Suzuki. Junior Heavyweight.)

Kai Fujimura (young junior heavyweight wrestler, formerly of Wrestle-1)

Kazuyuki Fujita (The Sugiura Army, refuses to wear a dog shirt as it is "embarrassing". Heavyweight.)

Kazuyuki Sakuraba (The Sugiura Army, usually teams with Takashi Sugiura. Heavyweight)

Kendo Kashin (The Sugiura Army, troublesome junior heavyweight)

Kotaro Suzuki (Noah's firstborn, junior heavyweight)

Masao Inoue (Funky Express. Heavyweight who walked out with Mitsuharu Misawa from All Japan in 2000. Often the butt of jokes, and Takashi Sugiura's camera)

Yuya Susumu (STINGER. Junior Heavyweight. Old friend of HAYATA'S from WrestleGate.)