"Fist King"

Literal meaning of "Kenoh" (拳 Ken = Fist  王 ō = King), sometimes applied to him as a literal nickname.

Chanko

Noah's chanko recipe as shown at "100 Ways To Watch Pro-Wrestling" presented in Fukushima by Atsushi Kotoge and Go Shiozaki (October 2017)

Chankonabe (or "chanko" for short) is a dish traditionally eaten by sumo wrestlers to increase weight gain. It has transferred to professional wrestling and is a staple of Dojo food. Each promotion has its own recipe and every single trainee passing through has been taught how to cook it.

The dish is high in protein and commonly uses chicken (or another meat dish), fish and vegetables and is served with rice and beer. Thanks to their support of the Nippon Food Network (a company who promote produce made within Japan), Noah use only local food sources. 

 

Hysteric

Theme music of Naomichi Marufuji (unknown artist)

NM: I decided on mine. In the past we chose from one recommended by the staff, but in Noah each wrestler is using a song that they want to use. I like songs that raise the tension when I enter for the match. My debut song is the first song of a dance music CD I picked up at the beginning, "Hysteric".
Q: It is not a genre you listen to normally?
NM: No, but I remixed it and used it for copyright reasons.
(From an interview with Q&A Sports, December 2014)

Two versions exist: "Hysteric" and "Hysteric - Trance Version"

Hysteric (Version 1)

Hysteric - Trance version

Please inform me of any broken links

YO-HEY & HAYATA

Tag team
Theme music:  "Africa" (originally by Toto, but for copyright reasons they use a cover). They have also been known to use "Painkiller" (Judas Priest)

Trivia:

• Tag team champions: late 2017 and early 2018
• Names are always Romanised and in caps.
• Part of the RATELS group with Tadasuke and Daisuke Harada
• YO-HEY does the talking, HAYATA says nothing (and when he does it usually one word "same" and then only when he is prodded into it by YO-HEY). HAYATA usually walks away after speaking.
• Tag team name comes from the fact that both their first names are "Yohei" (Yohei Fujita and Yohei Hayata).
• HAYATA is six months older than YO-HEY
• HAYATA doesn't shake hands with anyone, and doesn't allow YO-HEY to do it either, so he has to wait until he is out if the ring to do it.
• YO-HEY refers to HAYATA as "The Bride" or "The Wife" because he tells him what to do and due to the fact that they are a pair and always together (not to mention the fact that YO-HEY gives nicknames to everyone in RATELS)
• YO-HEY'S "peron" is a hard word to translate into English as there is no direct equivalent as it is a mimetic word, but it basically means to roll up, to flip. There is no explanation that would make sense.

Special moves
No combined finisher in specific (i.e. nothing along the lines of a Funky Buster Bomb) but they do use moves in tandem such as a facebuster combination and double super kick.

Kaito Kiyomiya

In December 2017, Kaito Kiyomiya set the record for being the youngest person ever to challenge for the GHC Heavyweight Title at twenty-one years of age, before him it was Naomichi Marufuji who challenged at twenty-six.

"SAKURETSU"

In December 2017, RAN announced that her song "SAKURETSU" had become the official anthem of Pro-Wrestling Noah. As far as I know the title means something like "burst" or "explosion".

"The Sweat Off"

Name given to Mitsuharu Misawa's unique mannerism of wiping the sweat off your face when you use your finger like a wiper to remove it from your eyebrows.

Winter Navigation

Poster for "Winter Navigation 2015"

Nautical name given to Noah's last tour of the year. Usually takes place in November and\or December.

Most (if not all) Noah's tour names are given references to being on a journey on a ship, for example:

"Navigation"
"Navigation with Breeze" (wind in the sails)
"First Navigation" (maiden voyage)

Global League

"Global League" is a round robin style tournament in which the participants collect points on whether they win or lose. The two leading competitors from Block A and Block B face each other in the finals. The winner will emerge the number one contender for the GHC Heavyweight Title.
The first winner was Yoshohiro Takayama in 2010.

When the League started in 2010, it was more of a prize winning event with money handed to the winner, the person who came in second place, and awards given for skill etc. By 2017 these things were obsolete.

Theme Music List

50 Funky Powers (Mohammed Yone and Quiet Storm): "Boogie Wonderland" (Earth, Wind & Fire)

HAYATA: "Painkiller" (Judas Priest)

Junta Miyawaki: "White Riot" (The Clash)

Naomichi Marufuji: "Trance Hysteric" (Unknown, but there are two or three versions)

Taiji Ishimori: "Fight It Out" (Mothball)

YO-HEY & HAYATA: "Africa" (Toto)

50 Funky Powers

 

Tag team formed in 2016 of Mohammed Yone and Quiet Storm.
Theme music is Earth, Wind and Fire's "Boogie Wonderland".
Special move: Funky Buster Bomb
AKA: 50FP

Trivia:
Tag team champions in October\November 2017 having beaten Go Shiozaki and Atsushi Kotoge for them.
Mohammed Yone put his finger in his ear during the GHC Heavyweight Tag signing in December 2017 when Quiet Storm was speaking...and was being anything other than quiet.
Disco themed; Yone has started coming out to the ring looking like a cross between Elvis and Disco Stu
Tag team championship bid was halted in 2016 when Quiet Storm injured the muscles in his arm.

(Please let me know of any broken links)

"Africa" (originally by Toto)

Theme music used by the tag team of YO-HEY and HAYATA.

While Noah does not (and never has had) an in-house music department, wrestlers are allowed to use theme music that they like of which there either aren't too many copyright issues with, or find a cover of if there are. Due to the copyright issues, YO-HEY and HAYATA use a cover version of "Africa" by Toto.
A seemingly strange choice to use at first as it has no links to boasting about being great, being good at fighting, do not mess with me etc, it comes from their group name "RATELS", which is the Latin name for badger. In their case it is the Honey Badger, a small creature with a ferocious defence when in a fight. This type of badger is not native to Japan, but rather to Africa, which is a subtle tribute to their stable "RATELS".

(Please inform me of any broken links)

Differ Ariake

Former sports arena, and former home of Noah, based in the Ariake area of Tokyo (also famous for its special curry which was created to give to fans in 2001\2002 as at the time there were no convenience stores nearby, neither was the arena particularly easy to get to.)

Differ Ariake opened in July 1988, and was originally named "MZA Ariake", it functioned as a disco and a music venue. It bloomed in the bubble era, but due to the economical collapse in the late nineties it was renamed "Differ Ariake" and became a sports venue in 2000.

Noah set up base there in June 2000, installing their dojo and having their offices there (after Misawa's death a journalist who had known him well remembered breaking down at seeing his office, and everything being how he left it, almost as if he had simply stepped out and would be coming back soon). A lot of the talent that you see in Noah today where trained there (from the older "Misawa generation" including Eddie Edwards who attended with fellow classmate Go Shiozaki, to the younger such as Hitoshi Kumano who recalls being "the one who made a lot of noise" during training). Annually Noah held events such as "NOAHful Gift in Differ" where the wrestlers would hold a flea market, have their Christmas\New Year show, serve their own dojo recipe for chanko and other events. It was also here in "Noah's Spiritual Home" that the flower altars were set up for Mitsuharu Misawa after his death and subsequent years memorials. 

The venue was also used from the aesthetic such as kabuki performances (its raised walkway was ideal for this), to the modern as TV dramas and films came to shoot there.

Sadly Noah packed up their dojo and offices and moved out of Differ a few years ago (for a variety of reasons, partly due to the venue being sold and partly due to money issues), and the venue will close its doors in June 2018. The last event to be held there involving Noah was on the 28th November 2017 at the "DifferCup Memorial" (which was not won by Noah). On their last night there, a few of them wandered through the old building and saw sadly the empty spaces where the dojo and offices used to be and remembered old friends and faces now sadly gone. It was then time to eat the famous curry and then leave forever.

As of the time of writing it is not known what will become of the venue.  

XX

Tag team of Taiji Ishimori and Hi69, formed in January 2017. Name means "double extract".

"XX" were known for coming to the ring wearing horned masks in tribute to the band "Mothball" (whose t-shirt they sometimes wear) and who did Taiji Ishimori's entry song; in addition both Hi69 and Taiji Ishimori appeared in their music video "Fight Out" which is used as their entry video. The numbers on their masks also correlate to the band - Ishimori's being "6" as there are five members in the band, and naturally Hi69's being "69". Mothball made an appearance at Great Voyage in Yokohama appearing at XX's entrance in their match against RATELS Daisuke Harada and Tadasuke.

("Fight it Out")

 

Opening scenes of the "Fight It Out" video starring Taiji Ishimori and Hi69

 

Team became defunct on March 11th 2018, after Taiji Ishimori quit Noah right after being beaten for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team belts by Yoshinari Ogawa and Minoru Tanaka. 



Please let me know of any dead links

Shiranui

Inventor: Naomichi Marufuji

Name meaning: While "Shiranui" can mean many things (it is a sumo term, also used for ghost lights) it can also refer to the act of a father giving a samurai sword to a son, which it does in this case. While not easy to convey the true meaning, my understanding is that the move in its motion, is meant to represent the father taking the sword from the scabbard, and ceremoniously handing it over, hilt first to the recipient.

(Please inform me of any broken links)

YO-HEY'S Nicknames

Daisuke Harada
"The Boss"

Reason: He's the leader of RATELS

Tadasuke
"The Boss's Mom"
"Okasan"

Reason: he has long hair and is round like a traditional Japanese woman, plus he is the one who usually sides with Harada, seconds the others, and carries them from the ring when they are injured. "Okasan" means "mother"

Hayata
"Wife"

Reason:  he and YO-HEY go everywhere together, HAYATA tends to agree with him, and also because HAYATA can be strict with him i.e. not letting him shake hands with people (HAYATA can also be very stubborn)

YO-HEY having to check HAYATA isn't looking before shaking hands with GurukunMask (who he called "Fish Face")

Global Honored Crown (GHC)

The belt was founded on April 15th 2001. It's title means to pursue strength and show your pride as a pro-wrestler fighting for your throne and crown.

The belts are managed by the GHC Management Committee, who decide who is going to get the belt, when and where, when and where you defend it, and for how long you get to keep it.
Each belt has its own theme which is played prior to the championship matches, originally Noah were the only people to do this, although it has caught on with other promotions.

Design
The centre of the belt contains the roman text for what the belt is (i.e. GHC JUNIOR, GHC TAG etc), and of course the crown itself. Behind this is a rough map of the world, below it is a rough outline of waves (this is said to represent the Ark's voyage and the champion navigating rough waters).
To each side of the belt on the upper left and right, are the figures of two unicorns. In Medieval western thought, the Unicorn was a symbol of fierce pride and aggression and here they represent the champions of this belt and the attributes they are meant to display.

RAN

J-Pop singer. Born on December 23rd in Osaka.

Usually does the half time shows for Noah, most usually at big events (i.e.. Korakuen or the very last DifferCup) but has been known to work smaller shows as well.

Official website: http://ran-net.jp/
Ameblo Blog: https://ameblo.jp/ran1223ran/
You-Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_knIkkL1Ih1PONMseQARXQ?app=desktop (note, does not contain any live Noah performances)

Please inform me of any broken links   

RATELS

Team formed in early 2017, consisting of (from left) Tadasuke, Daisuke Harada, YO-HEY and HAYATA.

The word "Ratel" is Latin and is used for the badger (specifically the Honey Badger). This little creature is known for his ferocity and its defensive abilities. Not native to Japan it is found mainly in the African\Indian continent, which would explain YO-HEY and HAYATA's theme music "Africa" (they don't use the original, it seems to be a cover)