Pro Wrestling NOAH was formed by the legendary Mitsuharu Misawa in 2000, following a series of disagreements with Motoko Baba, Giant Babas widow and All Japan Pro Wrestling majority shareholder. Misawa, being one of the most respected and well-liked Japanese wrestlers ever, opened NOAH alongside all of AJPWs talent and staff except for three wrestlers and one referee. He also managed to get NTV, the channel that hosted All Japans wrestling program, to go with him as well and to showcase NOAH events instead of All Japan events. NOAHs peak years were its first six. From 2000 to 2006, NOAH was arguably the best promotion in Japan, and filled the role that All Japan had in the 1990s as the promotion that showcased the best wrestling matches. Some of the matches seen in NOAH are truly amazing. You have the continuation of classic All Japan feuds in a new promotion, new rivalries and faces not seen before, and even some crossover stars from other companies and countries that wouldve never been seen in Giant Babas isolationist All Japan. This article will introduce 15 of the best NOAH matches in the company's history. These are matches that defined NOAH as one of the most exciting pro wrestling promotions on the entire planet, as well as the matches that helped pro wrestling in Japan survive a terrible post-2000 slump that nearly crippled the entire industry. These are truly fifteen of the greatest and most exciting matches that you absolutely have to see
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
