(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 became an executive under that new regime, I was also made to serve as the wrestlers' representative. It’s strange to hold both roles at once, isn't it? Besides, I didn't really do much; it was just a title in name only. I don't think the Misawa regime was all that different from the Baba era, really.

I heard directly from Misawa—who would later go on to found Noah—that he was leaving All Japan. 

He said, "I can't quit as long as I'm the President," so at an extraordinary board meeting in May 2000, a majority vote was passed to fire him. After that, we directors submitted our resignations too; after all, board members are free to quit whenever they want.

Why did I decide to follow Misawa? Because he was making more sense, and I felt Motoko-san was in the wrong. She came from a wealthy background, so she could be willful.

My bond with Misawa was a brotherhood—a relationship between men. Since I was the Wrestlers Association President I announced, "Things have come to this, so I’m leaving. If there’s anyone who doesn’t want to come along, well, that can’t be helped." Most of them left, though. The executive director, ring announcers, referees—I think the staff came along too.

About the only ones left were Toshiaki Kawada and Masanobu Fuchi. I did reach out to Kawada, but he was non-committal—sort of humming and hawking - so I realized it wasn't going to happen. I don't really know the reason why, and I didn't press him on it. It wasn't a matter of betrayal or anything like that; everyone has their own way of thinking, so you just have to accept it.

With Kawada, there was a sense that, "Well, this is the end of the road for us." But my mind was mostly occupied with the fact that Misawa was launching a new company and we had to give it our all there. And so, the new promotion "Pro Wrestling Noah" was launched with Misawa at the helm. I knew it would be a tough road ahead, but I felt we had to push forward. There was hope, certainly, but also anxiety—it was a real mix of the two."

Link to article from Tokyo Sports

 Picture credit, Tokyo Sports