Pro Wrestling NOAH Est. 2000

NOAH Departure 2004 (Volume 1) July 10th 2004 £7 vhs / £8 dvd
This epic is NOAH's debut at the Tokyo Dome, brought to you by the team behind All Japan's Egg Dome debut in 1998. The match ratings, borrowed from the Wrestling Observer, will tell you everything you need to know about the quality of the action. Mitsuo Momota vs Haruka Eigen (-3/4*)… Tamon Honda, Jun Izumida & Tsuyoshi Kikucki vs Masao Inoue, Kishin Kawabata & Masashi Aoyagi (*)… Michael Modest & Donovan Morgan vs Kotaro Suzuki & Ricky Marvin (***1/4)… Too Cold Scorpio & Richard Slinger vs Akitoshi Saito & Makoto Hashi (**3/4)… Daisuke Ikeda & Mohammed Yone vs Akira Taue & Naoki Sano (***1/2)… Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA Kobayashi vs Takashi Sugiura & Kendo Ka Shin (GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match, ****1/4)… Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Jushin Liger (GHC Junior Heavyweight Title Match, ****1/2)

NOAH Departure 2004 (Volume 2) July 10th 2004 £7 vhs / £8 dvd
Three title matches bring Departure to its conclusion. These include the first ever in-ring meeting between Mitsuharu Misawa and Keiji Muto, and a main event that's being touted as the best match of a decade we aren't even halfway through. Certainly the best show of the year so far. Yoshihiro Takayama & Minoru Suzuki vs Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio (IWGP Tag Team Title Match, ***1/2)… Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs Keiji Muto & Taiyo Kea (GHC Tag Team Title Match, ***1/4)… Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama (GHC Heavyweight Title Match, *****)

NOAH Navigation Over the Date Line 2003 September 12th 2003 £9 vhs / £10 dvd
Complete card featuring the first ever collision between two of wrestling's greatest performers, Yuji Nagata and Kenta Kobashi. In the style of late-'90s All Japan, they punctuate a super match by relentlessly dropping one another on their heads. If you hold a view that brutal wrestling requires barbed wire and broken furniture, this main event should happily shatter your illusions. Richard Slinger & Masashi Aoyagi vs Haruka Eigen & Kishin Kawabata… Tamon Honda, Naoki Sano & Kotaro Suzuki vs Takeshi Rikio, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Mitsuo Momota… Akira Taue, Daisuke Ikeda & Mohammed Yone vs Mitsuharu Misawa, Yoshinari Ogawa & Masao Inoue… Yoshihiro Takayama, Bison Smith & Donovan Morgan vs Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito & Jun Izumida… Ron Harris vs Takeshi Morishima (WLW Heavyweight Title Match)… Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA Kobayashi vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Makoto Hashi (GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match)… Michael Modest vs Takashi Sugiura (GHC Junior Heavyweight Title Match)… Kenta Kobashi vs Yuji Nagata (GHC Heavyweight Title Match)

NOAH Navigate for Evolution 2003 March 1st 2003 £9 vhs / £10 dvd
After twelve months of tantalising buildup, NOAH delivered the first Mitsuharu Misawa-Kenta Kobashi match in three long years. Older and wiser, Misawa and Kobashi supplied all the action and emotion that was expected of them, and the result reduced many in attendance to tears. Match of the Year and an enjoyable undercard. What more could you possibly want? Mitsuo Momota & Rusher Kimura vs Haruka Eigen & Kishin Kawabata… Akira Taue, Michael Modest & Donovan Morgan vs Naoki Sano, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yasuhiro Suzuki… Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA Kobayashi vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Makoto Hashi… Daisuke Ikeda, Takeshi Rikio & Takeshi Morishima vs Izu, Bison Smith & Superstar Steve… Too Cold Scorpio vs Yoshinari Ogawa… Yoshihiro Takayama vs Masao Inoue… Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs Tamon Honda & Takashi Sugiura (GHC Tag Team Title Match)… History of Misawa/Kobashi feud… Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa (GHC Heavyweight Title Change)

NOAH Navigate for Evolution 2002 February 17th 2002 £9 vhs / £10 dvd
Epic show from Budokan Hall, including the riotous invasion of New Japan's Jushin Liger and Wataru Inoue, and the spine-tingling return of Kenta Kobashi. This show has more quality tag matches than certain groups produce in years. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs Jushin Liger & Wataru Inoue (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Change)… Yasuhiro Suzuki & KENTA Kobayashi vs Mohammed Yone & Terry Gordy Jr… Rusher Kimura, Mitsuo Momota & Masashi Aoyagi vs Haruka Eigen, Jun Izumida & Kishin Kawabata… Takashi Sugiura & Daisuke Ikeda vs Michael Modest & Donovan Morgan… Yoshinari Ogawa & Naoki Sano vs Too Cold Scorpio & Richard Slinger… Masao Inoue, Tamon Honda & Akira Taue vs Akitoshi Saito, Kentaro Shiga & Makoto Hashi… Naomichi Marufuji vs Juventud Guerrera (GHC Junior Heavyweight Title Match)… Takeshi Rikio & Takeshi Morishima vs Takao Omori & Yoshihiro Takayama… Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (Kobashi's comeback)

NOAH PPV: Great Voyage 2000 December 23rd 2000 £9 vhs / £10 dvd
For its first end-of-year PPV, NOAH ironed out many of its undercard wrinkles and presented its first genuine classic main event. The outpouring of emotion in the top match precipitated Kenta Kobashi spending 2001 on the surgeon's table, undergoing 13 potentially career-ending knee operations. Other highlights include Shinya Hashimoto's NOAH debut, and a surprisingly entertaining big man battle between Akira Taue and Yoshihiro Takayama. Kentaro Shiga, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Takeshi Morishima vs Masao Inoue, Takeshi Rikio & Takashi Sugiura… Kodo Fuyuki & Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs Tamon Honda & Masamichi Marufuji (FMW WEW Tag Team Title Change)… Yoshinari Ogawa & Daisuke Ikeda vs Masashi Aoyagi & Akitoshi Saito… Yoshihiro Takayama vs Akira Taue… Shinya Hashimoto vs Takao Omori… Mitsuharu Misawa vs Vader… Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama

NOAH PPV: Departure II August 6th 2000 £7 vhs / £8 dvd
Second event from NOAH, completing a double-header at the Ariake Coliseum. The better-late-than-never push for Jun Akiyama continued with a satisfying win over old partner Kenta Kobashi. Satoru Asako vs KENTA Kobayashi… Makoto Hashi, Mitsuo Momota & Rusher Kimura vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Haruka Eigen… Takeshi Morishima & Masao Inoue vs Takeshi Rikio & Masamichi Marufuji… Jun Izumida & Akira Taue vs Takao Omori & Yoshihiro Takayama… Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs Kentaro Shiga & Daisuke Ikeda… Jun Akiyama vs Kenta Kobashi

NOAH PPV: Departure I August 5th 2000 £7 vhs / £8 dvd
Debut show from Mitsuharu Misawa's promotion. Leaving himself with much to prove as a promoter, Misawa initially stuck to the pecking order and style of All Japan, the company he abandoned in June - only deviating from AJPW's formula when it came to Jun Akiyama (who immediately received star treatment) and production values (cue smoke machines, lasers and outfits heavily indebted to Blake's 7). Which at least guaranteed a high quality, All Japan-style main event. Takeshi Morishima vs Makoto Hashi… Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Jun Izumida & Haruka Eigen vs Takeshi Rikio, Mitsuo Momota & Rusher Kimura… Masamichi Marufuji & Kentaro Shiga vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Masao Inoue… Yoshinari Ogawa, Masahito Kakihara & Daisuke Ikeda vs Yoshihiro Takayama, Takao Omori & Satoru Asako… Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue (best of three falls match)