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Superstars of Pro
Wrestling Noah |
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Mitsuharu Misawa
is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. In the 1990s, Misawa
took part in many of the greatest matches of the decade under the
auspices of All Japan Pro Wrestling. In 2000, Misawa broke away from
All Japan with most its roster to form Pro Wrestling NOAH. Misawa
has turned it into the top wrestling promotion in Japan this decade.
Misawa is a three-time GHC World champion. His finishing move is the
Emerald Frosien |
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Naomichi Marufuji is the only
wrestler to have completed NOAH’s grand slam of titles, having
captured all five of the federation’s titles. His biggest title
victory came on 9th September 2006 when he upended Jun
Akiyama for the GHC World heavyweight title- thus becoming the first
ever junior heavyweight to win the title. Marufuji is an
exhilarating competitor who utilizes moves such as the shiranui,
superkick and Pole Shift to tremendous effect.. |
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Kenta Kobashi is the wrestler
called by Powerslam magazine as the greatest wrestler of all time.
Kobashi has been an incredible wrestler over his 20-year career and
has taken part in some of the all-time great matches. Between 2003
and 2005, Kobashi held the GHC World title, which propelled Kobashi
to become the most popular wrestler in Japan. In mid-2006, Kobashi
was diagnosed with cancer but made an amazing recovery to return in
December 2007. |
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Go Shiozaki is a
four year pro who is destined for greatness. Under the tutelage of
Kenta Kobashi, the exciting heavyweight prospect has come on greatly
during his short career. Shiozaki made a solid impression during
2007 and contested many exciting matches, which earned him
recognition by Powerslam magazine who ranked him in their PS 50 for
the first time at 32. The future champion uses the German suplex and
moonsault as his main moves |
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Yoshinobu Kanemaru
is the most decorated junior heavyweight
in Pro Wrestling NOAH history. The 31-year-old has won the GHC World
junior heavyweight title on an unprecedented 4 occasions. In
addition, Kanemaru has also held the GHC junior heavyweight tag team
titles twice as well as New Japan’s IWGP junior heavyweight tag
belts. Kanemaru is renowned for his vast arsenal of moves, which
include the moonsault, Deep Impact and Touch Out brainbuster. |
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Jay
Briscoe Jay and Mark
Briscoe are two of the most exciting young talents in all of pro
wrestling. The brothers caught the attention of observers with a
great showing as teenagers in the CZW 2001 Best of the Best
tournament. Since then, they’ve become a world-class tandem with
numerous title victories, including the ROH tag team belts. The
Briscoes debuted for NOAH in 2007, where they won the junior
heavyweight tag titles in their debut match.
Mark Briscoe withdrew from the Event in April
when an injury required surgery. |
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KENTA is the most exciting
wrestler in Japan today. The 26-year-old bad-ass combines a host of
high-impact moves with wince-inducing striking to form an effective
crowd-pleasing style. KENTA has had some of the greatest matches in
all of wrestling in NOAH and ROH this decade with the likes of Bryan
Danielson, Takashi Sugiura and Naomichi Marufuji. The eight year
veteran is a former GHC junior heavyweight singles and tag team
champion. |
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Taiji Ishimori is a disciple of
Ultimo Dragon, having been trained by the former WCW cruiserweight
champion. Ishimori was initially a star in Dragon’s Toryumon X
promotion, where he impressed audiences with his state-of-the-art
moves such as the Superstar Elbow. Ishimori showed his intentions of
following in the footsteps of KENTA and Naomichi Marufuji as a
junior heavyweight division player, when he and KENTA won the NTV
Cup in July 2007. |
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Eddie Edwards
is an American wrestler who was trained
in the Pro Wrestling NOAH dojo. The junior heavyweight has competed
in the green ring with many of NOAH’s top stars, and this has helped
Edwards to develop into one of the most promising young wrestlers of
recent years. Over the last year, Edwards has also competed in his
native United States, wrestling for promotions such as ROH and NECW.
The high-flier is a star in the making |
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Bryan Danielson
is regarded as one of the very elite in-ring generals in pro
wrestling today. The Shawn Michaels trained technical marvel first
rose to prominence in 2001 when he won the All Pro Wrestling King of
the Indies tournament. The following year, he debuted for the new
ROH promotion, and went on to become an ROH World champion, and one
of the greatest wrestlers in the promotion’s history. Danielson’s
finisher is the Cattle Mutilation. |
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Takeshi Morishima is a 6ft 4in,
300lb marauder who was in dominant form throughout 2007. He captured
the ROH World title on 17th February 2007 and ran
roughshod through a host of challengers in impressive displays of
brute-force and power. The 29-year-old Morishima is a ten-year
veteran who is tipped to become NOAH’s next top superstar. The burly
brawler uses the lariat, backdrop driver and Amaze Impact to win his
matches. |
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Mohammed Yone, the man best known
for sporting a humongous afro is one of NOAH’s most reliable in-ring
competitors. Yone first rose to prominence in the cult favorite
BattleArts promotion in the late-nineties, but has achieved his
greatest fame in NOAH. The highlight of his NOAH tenure was two runs
with Takeshi Morishima as holders of the GHC World tag team titles.
The colourful Yone’s finishing move of choice is the muscle buster. |
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Jun Akiyama – Jun Akiyama debuted
in 1992 and has been one of the elite in-ring wresters in the
industry ever since. Akiyama transferred his amateur wrestling
credentials into the squared circle with ease, and before long he
was appearing in main events for All Japan Pro Wrestling. Akiyama
has had many incredible matches during his career and has held the
GHC World and tag titles on two occasions each. Akiyama’s signature
move is the Exploder suplex. |
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Bison Smith is
an American powerhouse who has been one of NOAH’s top foreign stars
over the last seven years. Smith was trained by All Pro Wrestling
and debuted in 1998. He first appeared for NOAH in 2001 and competed
for the GHC World title in 2003 and 2007. Bison Smith has wrestled
in Puerto Rico and for several independent promotions in the US, and
is influenced by Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody. Bison’s finishing
move is the Bisontennial. |
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Kotaro Suzuki debuted for NOAH in
December 2001. The 29-year-old aerialist has been wowing crowds with
his acrobatics for years, but really made an impact in 2007 when he
and partner Ricky Marvin reigned as GHC junior heavyweight tag
champions for most of the year. Suzuki is tipped to become the star
of the junior heavyweight division’s singles ranks this year. The
female favorite uses the Misty Crush, Blue Destiny and 619 as
finishing moves |
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Takashi Sugiura
– Sugiura is a highly successful former amateur wrestler who joined
NOAH in 2000. Stylistically, his biggest influence is Kurt Angle and
two of Sugiura’s trademark moves are the Olympic Slam and
ankle-lock. Sugiura has been one of NOAH’s unsung stars of recent
years, having participated in many classic battles over the last few
years. Sugiura has held the GHC heavyweight and junior heavyweight
tag titles as well as the singles junior strap |
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Doug Williams is one of the most
respected wrestlers in all of Europe- for over a decade ‘The
Anarchist’ has been one of the leading wrestlers in the country, and
has been a great ambassador for the British scene. Williams first
wrestled for NOAH in 2004 and has held the promotion’s tag team
titles. Other notable honours for Williams have included the ROH
Pure title and FWA heavyweight belt. The Chaos Theory is Williams’
main finishing move. |
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Nigel McGuinness
is one of the most successful British wrestlers in the world.
McGuinness was developed by, and debuted for, former WWE
developmental territory, HWA in the late nineties. He rose to
prominence in ROH, however, where he has held the Pure and World
titles. McGuinness is a well-travelled competitor who debuted for
NOAH in 2005. McGuinness was ranked the number two wrestler in the
world for 2007 by Powerslam magazine. |
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Junji
Izumida
debuted for All Japan in 1992 following
a career in that other genre of wrestling; sumo. Izumida’s biggest
moment in All Japan came in October 1998 when he teamed with Tamon
Honda to defeat Wolf Hawkfield and Johnny Smith for the All Asia tag
team titles. After defecting to NOAH upon its formation, Izumida
aligned himself with Jun Akiyama as part of his Sternness stable.
Izumida’s signature move is called the Meteorite. |
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Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
is NOHA’s most
eccentric wrestler. The twenty year veteran made his start in All
Japan, where he quickly carved his niche as a gutsy underdog. His
most memorable career performance was alongside Kenta Kobashi in May
1992, when the pair defeated Doug Furnas and Dan Kroffat for the All
Asia tag team titles in one of the all-time great matches. These
days, he's a beloved member of NOAH who entertains fans with
his comical ways. |
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Martin Stone has
been one of the best British wrestlers to emerge in recent years.
Stone was originally trained by the FWA and achieved his first
success with partner Stixx as part of the Stixx and Stone tag team
that won the FWA tag team titles. Other titles held by the
no-nonsense Stone have included the IPW:UK heavyweight title, the
LDN heavyweight belt and the RQW heavyweight championship. Stone’s
finishing move is the Tower of London |
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Wade Fitzgerald
at only
18 years old the former under 18’s MMA and British Tae Kwon Do
champion steps up for his big show debut. While small in height his
mini Herculean physique. His martial arts background and
high risk offence has already helped his cause in his previous
battles with Pro Wrestling Noah Stars Rikio, Tanaguchi, Ota,
Hirayanagi, Kawabata
and Shiga on these shores. |
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Joel Redman receives a huge
opportunity in what will be his largest show to date. 2007 was a
great year for Redman who re-invented himself by going back to
further his training. With notable high profile matches against
Robbie Brookside, Doug Williams, Danny Boy Collins this new prodigy is
looking to make an impact on a star studded card and will
want to impress on June 21st |
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Atsushi Aoki is the shining light
from NOAH’s batch of rookies that debuted in December 2005. Aoki won
the Wrestling Observer Rookie of the Year award for 2006 after
showing tremendous potential in his first year. Aoki continued that
momentum into 2007 and entered a number of memorable displays.
Aoki’s crowd-pleasing style sees the youngster employ moves such as
dropkicks, cross armbreakers and his finisher, the Northern Lights
suplex. |
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Bios Courtesy of Mo Chatra of
Powerslam Magazine. Mo has written for the magazine since 1999
and has been one of the leading authorities on Japanese wrestling
and Pro Wrestling NOAH in the country |
