7. Mitsuharu Misawa
Biggest mistake: Young talent paranoia When Misawa formed Pro Wrestling NOAH, he was the talk of the pro wrestling industry in Japan. He had effectively gutted All Japan of almost its entire roster and most of its staff, and people were expecting big things from him. However, NOAH experienced some notable problems during the first five years of its existence that harmed its future. Misawas goal was to build NOAH around Jun Akiyama, an eight-year NOAH veteran who had proven himself one of the strongest tag team wrestlers in that promotion. So when Misawa won the Global Honored Crown (GHC) Heavyweight Championship, and then dropped it to Akiyama, people were hoping that Akiyama would carry the company. Alas, he wasnt a good enough of a draw, so the belt went to Kenta Kobashi, who went on a two-year reign that was instrumental in elevating NOAH to the second or third-largest wrestling promotion in Japan. But Kobashi was an ace from All Japan, whose body had been damages severely by over a decade of stiff wrestling. As a result, Misawa needed to find a new star to carry NOAH, but his top choice, Takeshi Rikio, failed even worse than Akiyama did. As a result, Misawa and the other decision-makers in NOAH developed a sort of paranoia on pushing the newer, younger stars. This, in turn, led to an over-reliance on other All Japan veterans, including Misawa himself, who had to carry the belt on three occasions, and worked virtually every show, even as his body fell apart. These booking decisions would prove more costly than ever imagined, as Misawa himself passed away from damage done to his body. Its possible that, had he pushed the right people and made different booking decisions, he might be still alive today.