10 Most Damaging Figures In The History Of Wrestling

7. Motoko Baba

Tripel H Stephanie McMahon Wrestlemania 33
Pro Wrestling NOAH

The death of Shohei 'Giant' Baba also killed All Japan Pro Wrestling, the company he founded alongside the Momota brothers.

It was bequeathed to his widow Motoko. Motoko's nickname was Dragon Lady - an oddly polite burial, if there ever was one, though the politeness is likely all in the translation.

The promotion's top star, Mitsuharu Misawa, had been handpicked by Baba, in the year prior to his death, as his booking successor. Motoko, however, despite herself grooming Misawa, elected to hand the presidential reins over to Mitsuo Momota. It wasn't a popular decision; the roster idolised and respected Misawa and wanted him to steer the ship.

Motoko eventually relented. Misawa was installed as president, but this didn't repair their fractured relationship. Misawa's ambitions were greater than Motoko's, who, wary that the company's television presence had been scaled back, wished to preserve the status quo.

That status quo was destroyed forever when Misawa struck a clandestine agreement with NTV, the televised home of Japanese wrestling. All Japan's TV show was no more. Of the 28 full-time AJPW stars, 26 followed Misawa to his new Pro Wrestling NOAH promotion (surely the best-named wrestling league ever). Misawa's was proved to be the correct way to proceed.

NOAH was obviously helped by the mutiny. The promotion had all the stars. It also had revamped, glitzy production values and a new Ace in crowd favourite Kenta Kobashi. His astonishingly successful reign with the GHC Heavyweight Strap was such a sensation that NOAH managed something All Japan never did: successive mammoth attendances, either side of 60,000, at the Tokyo Dome over 2004 and 2005.

All Japan remains in existence today, but in a depressing, NWA-like state - legendary in name and legacy only.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!