(NOAH) Remembering Misawa ~ the traditions of Noah's memorial shows

When it comes to the Mitsuharu Misawa memorial events, Noah usually have four ways of remembering him and celebrating his memory, although I am not sure with the advent of COVID in 2021, whether one of them will still take place. Nonetheless, I hope this small guide will be of use to newer fans in understanding some of the ritual and symbolism behind what you may see at the memorial events, and maybe answer any questions that older fans have. 

Background

After Mitsuharu Misawa died in 2009, Noah have held memorial shows pretty much each year, with the exception of a few years when they didn't run any. The shows have followed a general format with some changes over the years. The shows of yesteryear were a more grand affair, Stan Hansen, Kenta Kobashi and Toshiaki Kawada attending the event in 2015, which Noah held at the Hiroshima Green Arena where Misawa died and with displays of Misawa's gown and photographs both inside and outside of the ring. Noah have not been back to the Hiroshima Green Arena since 2015, preferring to run the Hiroshima Industrial Hall for the double reason of the promotion going through some harder times and therefore needed to downscale, and the fact that it's too painful for them to go there. In August 2021 with the promotion seeing better days, they are going to the Hiroshima Sun Arena, and understandably not the Green.      

"GHC Heavyweight Champion, Misawa Mitsuharu"

The event always starts with the roster gathered around the ring, while the announcer calls "GHC Heavyweight Champion, Misawa Mitsuharu". Spartan X (Misawa's theme music plays), and fans throw green streamers. Misawa is always announced as the GHC Heavyweight Champion, as he was the first one, and it is in this manner that his spirit is conducted to the ring, just as he would have been in life. In past events his boots have been laid out in the middle or have been carried by a member of the roster (usually Naomichi Marufuji or Akira Taue), but this has not been a feature in recent years.  There is also a three bell salute and a silence for his memory. 

Misawa's portrait

Misawa's full length portrait, which stares at us from a vanished era in both Puro and Noah, is always hung from the balcony, usually over the entryway. In past years Noah have displayed this at each arena they have gone to in the month of June (both the month of Misawa's death and his birth), but it tends to now be only displayed at the memorial events. 

There is a double symbolism in hanging the portrait from the balcony, aside from it being the only place to hang it. The main reason is that it makes people look up at it, not out of an act of worship, but an act of respect, and secondly he would watch shows from the balcony in years past at Differ Ariake, especially SEM, and this has remained alive in Noah memory although there are very few now who remember this. The balcony is usually shut off to everyone during the memorial events, with Noah not selling tickets for it when they are at Korakuen. The reason why the balcony is usually closed off is not because Noah are scared that someone may mess with the picture, causing it to come crashing down (and I doubt anyone ever would mess with it, even if they could reach it), but because this is his space and it is where his spirit resides. 

The green ring

Noah officially stopped using the ikonic green ring in March 2019 when the promotion underwent a reboot to try and bring it out from the shadows of the past and the shadow of Misawa. The green was a symbol (and remains so) of Noah, and it is usually bought back for the memorial events and Noah's anniversary shows. 

The Memorial Altar 

So that fans can remember Misawa and honor his memory, for each memorial show Noah set up a flower altar. Fans come and leave flowers, packets of Misawa's favorite cigarettes and cans of beer as offerings to his spirit in afterlife. On one anniversary of his death when Go Shiozaki and Kotaro Suzuki where in Hokkaido during their All Japan days, they went to Misawa's favorite restaurant, sat at his favorite table, and laid out his favorite drink and left his packet of cigarettes for him in the empty space.