10 NJPW Versus NOAH Matches You Didn't Know Happened

Japan is known for its legendary crossovers when it comes to pro wrestling. The country’s philosophy regarding pro wrestling greatly differs from what fans are accustomed to seeing in other parts of the world including the United States, where top promotions barely recognize minor leagues. Japanese fans are familiar to crossover events between promotions such as New Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah. The two legendary promotions have a working relationship that dates back to the earlier years of Noah.

Noah’s founder, the late great Mitsuharu Misawa, was a firm believer of working with other promotions; an idea he tried to implement in AJPW as soon as he took the reins of the promotion in the wake of Giant Baba’s death in 1999. Though his attempts were shrugged in AJPW, Misawa successfully implemented his expansionist philosophy in Noah. Over the years, Noah would work with promotions such as Zero-1 and NJPW. Because most of these matches took place more than a decade ago, today’s generation of fans might not know about these bouts.

10 Go Shiozaki vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (August 22, 2010)

The second match in Shiozaki and Nakamura’s series of extraordinary bouts took place on Noah’s 10th anniversary show. Nakamura’s reputation as a hard-hitting yet technical performer had begun to skyrocket, and it was only fitting for the bookers to pit him against Shiozaki.

The future ace of Noah took advantage of every opportunity he got against the future King of Strong Style, targeting Nakamura’s knee to limit his aggressive offense. Because he was the invader, Nakamura played a tremendous heel against the underdog babyface Shiozaki.

9 Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jun Akiyama (August 14, 2003)

Puroresu fans were more than thrilled when they witnessed the arrival of Jun Akiyama in NJPW G1 Climax 2003. Akiyama had already been a multi-time champion by the time he ventured into New Japan territory. The veteran took on a very young Tanahashi on August 14, 2003.

Though Tana was years removed from becoming the ace, he still showed a lot of resilience in the face of Master of the Exploder. Akiyama, on the other hand, played his part extremely well as the egotistical yet experienced performer, showing much respect to Tana after the match.

8 Kazuchika Okada vs. Naomichi Marufuji (July 18, 2016)

Kazuchika Okada is widely considered as one of the greatest wrestlers of this generation. Back in 2016, the Rainmaker squared off against a Noah veteran in Naomichi Marufuji. Those who’ve seen Marufuji know just how good he’s between the ropes.

The two met in the opening round of G1 Climax 26 in 2016. Marufuji showed incredible offense against Okada and managed to best the champion after several minutes of solid action. The two would square off once more, with Okada beating the Noah star this time.

7 Kenta Kobashi vs. Yuji Nagata (September 12, 2003)

Kenta Kobashi’s influence in the world of Puroresu cannot be stressed enough. The legendary wrestler put on classics after classics. One of Kobashi’s better matches came against Yuji Nagata in 2003. The innovator of the Burning Hammer was in the midst of a legendary title reign that lasted for a record 735 days between 2003 and 2005.

The match was nothing short of stiff from start to finish. Nagata was looking to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship, but he had to get past Kobashi to do that. The slugfest lasted for nearly 30 minutes before the Ironman destroyed Mr. IWGP with a powerful lariat.

6 Hirooki Goto & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Takashi Sugiura (January 4, 2009)

Misawa versus Nakamura is a dream match for many fans. Unfortunately, a singles match between the two stars was never able to transpire because of Misawa’s untimely death in 2009. The two, however, did partake in tag team action at Wrestle Kingdom 3 in Tokyo Dome.

Though Misawa was pretty banged up by this time, he still managed to awe the crowd with his stiff elbow strikes against the formidable duo of Goto and Nakamura. Sugiura also played his part to the best of his abilities. Fun tag team match and Misawa’s last NJPW appearance, sadly!

5 Kazuchika Okada & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Kenta Kobashi & Akihiko Ito (May 6, 2009)

Okada and Kobashi in the same ring? Yes, it did happen. Okada was yet to reach the pinnacle and Kobashi was already in the twilight of his legendary career by the time this bout transpired. The future Rainmaker was in his 20s when he teamed up with fellow NJPW star Tenzan against Kobashi and Ito.

The match took place at NOAH Global Tag League 2009. A young and brash Okada made repeated attempts to ignite the burning rage within Kobashi, only to get thrashed in the process. Tenzan and Ito also engaged in several fun exchanges. It's a bit of a bummer that fans won’t ever get to see Okada versus Kobashi in singles action.

4 Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa (January 10, 2004)

Fans in attendance for NOAH Great Voyage 2004 saw a rare interaction between two of the greatest two ever step inside the squared circle as Misawa and Hiroshi Tanahashi engaged in multiple sequence throughout this tag match.

Misawa’s body had started to give away at this point, but he still managed to land those stiff strikes on the aggressive duo of Tanahashi and Nagata. Ogawa also showcased himself as a reliable tag partner. A decent match that might’ve been good had it not gone past 20 minutes.

3 Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Keiji Mutoh and Kaito Kiyomiya (January 8, 2022)

Noah and NJPW jointly produced Wrestle Kingdom 16 in 2022. The third-day of the flagship Puroresu event culminated with a tag team match between Okada /Tanahashi and Mutoh /Kiyomiya.

Many fans complained that it should’ve been Kento or Nakajima instead of Mutoh, but the former NJPW star made the most out of what he was given. It was a surprisingly good match to close Wrestle Kingdom 16.

2 Akira Taue & Kenta Kobashi vs. Masahiro Chono & Mitsuharu Misawa (January 10, 2003)

Masahiro Chono is one of the best bad men in the history of Puroresu. Chono possessed an unbridled cockiness and attitude that made him the biggest heel in New Japan in the late 90s. The ultimate heel of Puroresu teamed up with the ultimate babyface in Misawa for this bout.

The crowd in attendance went nuts at the sight of the ultimate good guy-bad guy team up. The match itself was pretty decent. All four performers did well in mesmerizing the audience with their amazing move sets.

1 Masahiro Chono vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (May 2, 2002)

Arguably the biggest crossover on this list as the biggest babyface of the 90s took on the biggest heel of the 90s. Misawa versus Chono was a dream match for many fans.

Unfortunately, it took place when the two stars were past their primes. Still, they managed to amaze the jam-paced Tokyo Dome with their in-ring presence.