Tag: naomichi marufuji

Naomichi Marufuji teases project with Netflix

Posted on by Ian Carey

Naomichi Marufuji is teasing a new project with Netflix.

The Pro Wrestling NOAH star posted to social media on Saturday to say that he was at the Netflix office for a “certain shoot” but did not reveal any further details. He also tagged NOAH in his post.

Marufuji wrote (translated):

“The other day, I went to Netflix for a certain shoot! 
Seriously, it was just pure heaven for me 😩 Way too perfect ✨
Full details will be announced later! Everyone, look forward to it ✨”

Marufuji is just coming off losing the GHC Tag Team titles alongside Kenoh to Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI at NOAH The New Year 2026. He wrestled on Saturday in the Shinagawa ward of Tokyo on NOAH’s Lethal Odyssey tour. He teamed with Shuhei Taniguchi in a loss to Manabu Soya and Shuji Kondo.

On Sunday, Marufuji posted about AJ Styles, writing:

“A sudden friendship that blossomed with a man I hadn’t been involved with for years. Life really is full of surprises—you never know what might happen.”

Daily Update: NXT, Shawn Michaels, Naomichi Marufuji

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

  • Running down AEW Dynasty, controversy over the finish, where the angles look to be going, Young Bucks return, what the PPV number says and what to learn from it, long-term, Chris Jericho update, Why the show was long, Swerve vs. Booker and match-by-match rundowns.
  • Update on the Mania card, what matches are on what night, what is up in the air on the card, length, odds, Kevin Owens injury, Paul Heyman angle, Flair vs Stratton and Stand & Deliver, ticket demand and more.
  • New Japan Sakura Geneis report, angles at the show, Best of the Super Juniors and Windy City Riot.
  • Update on the legal strategy of WWE, Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon regarding the ringboys lawsuit.
  • El Hijo del Santo’s possible last match in Mexico City
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for all the pro wrestling shows, including comparisons with a year ago quarters, demos, placings and competition.
  • Fantastica Mania Mexico
  • Arena Mexico hosting tournament of champions
  • Mina Shirakawa leves Stardom
  • Dragon Gate in Las Vegas
  • Lots of Las Vegas lineups for this coming week
  • Champion Carnival in All Japan begins
  • Junior Sakura Geneis thoughts
  • Anniversary of a legendary match
  • Advance ticket sales to the major WWE & AEW & Las Vegas wrestling events
  • Injury updates
  • Ospreay on Owen Hart
  • Aaron Pico signs with UFC
  • Major 2010 feud rematch falls apart
  • Lex Luger Hall of Fame notes
  • Legacy Hall of Fame notes

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Tuesday Update

 WWE

AEW & Other Wrestling

Naomichi Marufuji says he received message from Shawn Michaels

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Pro Wrestling NOAH star Naomichi Marufuji recently received a correspondence from WWE NXT boss Shawn Michaels.

Marufuji — a veteran wrestler and behind-the-scenes figure in NOAH — posted a tweet last night revealing that he’s received a message from Michaels. Though he did not disclose what the message was about, Marufuji said he was happy with it.

“Through a certain person I received a message from Shawn Michaels,” he wrote. “The contents are…I’m happy.”

At NOAH The New Year 2025 on Wednesday, the 45-year-old Marufuji shared the ring with WWE wrestler Omos in a tag team match. Omos & Jack Morris defeated Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura to become the new GHC Tag Team Champions.

WWE’s Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles have also competed in matches for Pro Wrestling NOAH as part of the working relationship that exists between the two companies. Since November, NOAH talent Yoshiki Inamura has been in the United States as a member of the NXT roster.

Michaels oversees NXT and has the job title of Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative in that executive role.

Naomichi Marufuji to guest commentate on ABEMA WWE SummerSlam broadcast

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Naomichi Marufuji is heading to SummerSlam.

Pro Wrestling NOAH announced on Saturday that Marufuji will be a guest commentator on the WWE SummerSlam broadcast that will stream on ABEMA in Japan. The show takes place August 6 at the Cleveland Browns Stadium in Ohio. 

After initially posting he would be at the show, NOAH later clarified that he would be part of the ABEMA pay-per-view broadcast.

The news comes after Marufuji faced WWE’s AJ Styles at NOAH Destination last weekend. Styles ended up winning the dream match following a Styles Clash.

NOAH and WWE in recent weeks have begun exchanging talent. Along with Styles’ appearance last weekend, NXT’s Tavion Heights and Josh Briggs will be competing in the N1 Victory tournament that begins next month. In the past, WWE has also sent Hideo Itami (KENTA) and Shinsuke Nakamura for one-time appearances.

Along with NOAH, WWE has also been exchanging talent with GCW, who has a Bloodsport event sent for next weekend featuring WWE talent. NXT wrestlers are also set to appear at Saturday’s TNA Slammiversary event, with the No Quarter Catch Crew set to take on The Rascalz, the latter of whom made their debut as a trio on Tuesday’s NXT.

Daily Update: Top matches from the weekend, UFC antitrust lawsuit, Mistico

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the Observer is up on the site now.  Among the stories covered are:

  • Lots of news on John Cena’s retirement tour
  • What plans are made and what are yet to be made
  • WWE marketing of Cena
  • The Ric Flair and Lou Thesz records
  • Who actually held the most world title reigns
  • The 15 biggest drawing cards in North American history
  • Cena’s early career
  • The Stephanie Vaquer timeline and why everything happened the way it did
  • SummerSlam top seven matches
  • Money in the Bank coverage
  • Unique poll result
  • Business notes on the show
  • PPV updates on Money in the Bank,  Forbidden Door, Double or Nothing and Diaz vs. Masvidal
  • Dana White talks about two giant deals from the past and why they fell through at the last minute
  • NXT Heatwave coverage  
  • All In update and business notes
  • Explaining the decline in cable television and how AEW compares to that
  • The most detailed look at  the TV ratings for all wrestling and MMA shows including competition, one-year comparisons and segment-by-segment.
  • Weekly TV placings for the top wrestling shows
  • Mistico  vs. Chris Jericho
  • G-1 updates
  • Oldest still-living major world champion agrees to come back for one last match
  • Notes on the Marigold PV show
  • Update on Kevin Sullivan
  • Second oldest living wrestler passes away, career dates back to the 1940s
  • Historical wrestling landmark about to be torn down
  • Major matches in Europe
  • Update on AEW TV negotiations
  • Lots of health updates on WWE stars
  • International TV ratings and streaming numbers and what wrestler in main events makes a 31% positive difference in AEW international numbers
  • Studying the changes in submissions in UFC by the decade
  • Ronda Rousey praises Dana White and Paul Heyman
  • WWE talking new belts update

This Week’s Wresting Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Sunday Update

  • Bryan and I will be back tonight with our weekend show covering the NOAH show with A.J. Styles, SummerSlam, Marigold with Iyo Sky, Fantastica Mania, and the rest of the wrestling news.
  • Judge Richard Boulware on Friday once again would not sign off on the settlement in the Cung Le and Kajan Johnson lawsuits against UFC. He was clearly unhappy with both settlements, more the latter.  He did indicate that over the next week he would either ratify the settlements or not do so which would force a trial. Both sides do not want this to go to trial and he may take that into consideration and ratify even if he believes, which he clearly does, that the fighters are not getting a fair deal.
  • I will say you should go out of your way to see the A.J. Styles vs. Naomichi Marufuji and Iyo Sky vs. Utami Hayashishita matches from yesterday as well as Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Yoichi, Miku Aono vs Mirai, and Giulia vs. Saree.  
  • We’re looking for reports from WWE last night in Mexico City and tonight in Monterey with results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]. We’re also looking for your thoughts on NJPW Fantastica Mania, the NOAH show and the Marigold show, thumbs up, down or middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
  • Mistico challenged Douki for the IWGP jr. title last night in San Jose although they haven’t announced a date or place for that match.
  • The only thing for the week that made the top 20 Google searches was UFC was No. 7 last night with 200,000 searches which is a good number for a fight night.
  • The biggest thing from last night’s UFC event was Rose Namajunas winning the main event over Tracy Cortez by a solid decision. The semi was controversial as Muslim Salkkahov beat Santiago Ponzinibbio via split decision. Judge Dean Abeyta had Salikhov winning rounds one and two.  Judge Eric Colon had Ponazinibbio winning one and two, so they were totally opposite. Chris Lee had Salikhov winning one and two. Media scores were 69 percent for Ponzinibbio but two of the media scores for Salikhov were Ryan Frederick and Paul Fontaine from this site.
  • A&E will be airing its bio on The Miz at 8pm tonight.
  • Conor McGregor said that after talking to Dana White that his fight with Michael Chandler will definitely take place before the end of the year.
  • The N-1 tournament (NOAH’s version of G-1) is 8/4 to 9/1. Besides NOAH regulars, the A block has Josh Briggs from NXT and Luis Mante from Dragon Gate and B block has Tavion Heights from NXT, so Briggs and Heights will be off NXT television next month.
  • The next Marigold PPV shows will be 9/28 in Nagoya and 1/3 at the Ota Ward Gym in Tokyo. For those going to Japan for the first week of the year, you can add both the Marigold PPV on 1/3 and a NOAH PPV on 1/1 from Budokan Hall.
  • Sendai Girls runs Korakuen Halal tomorrow with Chihiro Hashiimoto vs. Jordynne race and a double title match with both the Sendai Girls world title and Wonder of Stardom titles defended by Mika Iwata against Saori Anou.
  • As noted yesterday, Davey  Boy Smith Jr. will be a regular for All Japan starting on 8/3 with his return match on 8/3 in Sendai against Jun Saito.
  • QT Marshall took first place last night in the Lenda Murray NPC Atlanta physique competition.  Marshall competed in the novice division in the classic physique category. He said it would likely be the only such contest he will enter.
  • Mark Wahlberg on his Instagram Friday night showed that he was watching the MLW Blood & Thunder show. Apparently it’s due to Paul Walter Hauser being on the show as they are working on a movie together.
  • King Mo Lawal, the former MMA star and pro wrestler, has signed to come out of retirement for  Bare Knuckle fighting on 9/13 in Hollywood, FL. He will face Dave Undell. Lawal has been coaching at Dan Lambert’s ATT  Gym in Florida. He retired in 2019 citing numerous injuries.

AJ Styles squares off against Naomichi Marufuji at NOAH Destination 2024

Posted on by Bryan Rose

AJ Styles and Naomichi Marufuji squared off on Saturday.

The WWE star and one of NOAH’s all-time greats wrestled in the co-main event of Pro Wrestling Noah’s Destination event on Saturday in Budokan Hall. The finish of the match had Marufuji escaping from the Styles Clash once, but was unable to do so a second time, giving Styles the win.

Styles appeared in a video last month during a NOAH event in Yokohama to announce his appearance for the show. Styles had been a regular in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling before signing with the WWE in 2016, winning the IWGP Heavyweight title on two occasions.

Since returning to the WWE following a hiatus, Styles has wrestled for the WWE Championship twice. He was unsuccessful in his most recent effort, losing to Cody Rhodes in an I Quit match at Clash at the Castle last month.

It was also announced during Noah Destination that two WWE stars, Josh Briggs and Tavion Heights, will be wrestling in this year’s N1 Victory tournament.

WWE’s AJ Styles to face Naomichi Marufuji at NOAH Destination 2024

Posted on by Bryan Rose

AJ Styles is returning to Japan.

During a NOAH event in Yokohama on Sunday, WWE star AJ Styles appeared via video and announced he would be at NOAH’s Budokan event on July 13 to face Naomichi Marfuji. He ended the video by asking Marufuji to tear the house down.

It was announced last week that a “major announcement” in collaboration with WWE would be taking place Sunday, and a video from a “certain wrestler” would be released. In a press conference last month, new CyberFight president Yasuaki Okamoto stated that one of his goals was to strengthen their relationship with WWE.  Both WWE and NOAH air on ABEMA, which is owned by CyberFight parent company CyberAgent.

WWE and NOAH have worked together in the past. Shinsuke Nakamura made an appearance for NOAH’s New Year show in 2023, defeating The Great Muta, who retired later in the year. WWE has also been open to working with more promotions recently, including Shayna Baszler and Charlie Dempsey wrestling for GCW’s Bloodsport event during WrestleMania weekend.

Kota Ibushi challenges Naomichi Marufuji for NOAH The New Year 2024

Posted on by Joseph Currier

For the first time in more than a decade, Kota Ibushi will be competing for Pro Wrestling NOAH.

Ibushi made a surprise appearance for NOAH on Saturday, setting up a match against Naomichi Marufuji for NOAH The New Year 2024. Ibushi issued a challenge that Marufuji accepted.

NOAH The New Year 2024 is taking place at Ariake Arena on Tuesday, January 2 and will air live on Wrestle Universe with English commentary.

“Today I was able to step into Noah’s ring for the first time in 12 years. And thank you, Marufuji-san, for accepting the match,” Ibushi posted on social media.

“Welcome, Ibushi-kun, to Ariake Arena on 2 January,” Marufuji said in a post-show press conference. “It’s finally time to do it. Let’s do it first thing next year, on the best stage, one on one.”

NOAH has officially confirmed the match and announced that it will be the main event of NOAH The New Year.

Last month, it was officially announced that Ibushi is under contract with AEW. It’s a “flexible” deal that allows Ibushi to wrestle for other promotions.

“I’m based in Japan and I will travel for the matches,” Ibushi said. “Basically, I’m in Japan, I work in Japan, I will be active.”

NOAH The New Year 2024 will feature a GHC Heavyweight Championship match with Kenoh defending against Manabu Soya. Among the other matches scheduled for the show is a tag bout with Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinari Ogawa facing Hiroshi Tanahashi & HAYATA.

Naomichi Marufuji to face Will Ospreay on 25th anniversary show

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Naomichi Marufuji has an opponent for his anniversary show.

The Pro Wrestling NOAH star will face NJPW star Will Ospreay on September 17 in Korakuen Hall as part of his 25th anniversary show. Back in June following his match against Kenny Omega at Forbidden Door, Ospreay expressed interest in facing Marufuji, specifically on his anniversary show. He said that Marufuji was his idol growing up and he would love to be in the ring with him if possible.

This would be the first time Marufuji and Ospreay faced one another in a singles match. However, they teamed up in an undercard tag team match back in October of 2016, teaming with Toru Yano to defeat Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Tomoaki Honma.

Maurufji started his career in 1998, graduating from the All Japan Pro Wrestling dojo and having his first match against Yoshinobu Kanemaru on August 28 of that year. He jumped ship with most of the AJPW roster in 2000 to form Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he has remained ever since.

Daily Update: Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Naomichi Marufuji

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

See Dave & Bryan in London

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

In this issue:

  • Match of the week and performer of the week
  • The debut of Collision, AEW’s ratings decline and reasons and what the return of Punk will tell us
  • The problems Collision will have from the get go
  • Why the success of Collision is so important financially to AEW
  • The reaction as far as cheering and booing for Punk outside of Chicago and what is far more important than booing or cheering
  • Oversaturation of television in the marketplace
  • Ticket sales for Collision and all AEW & WWE events this summer
  • Update on WWE negotiations
  • Value of WWE to a new station with interest
  • The situation with WBD and potentially getting WWE
  • How many homes the key stations that could carry WWE & AEW are in right now
  • Conor McGregor sexual assault charge
  • Lawyer Eric Anderson breaks down the judges ruling to continue the MLW lawsuit against WWE, WWE’s arguments on antitrust, the judges reaction and what comes next
  • B.J. Whitmer fired
  • Full details on G-1 Climax tournament, the blocks, the favorites, the key matches and some storylines to look for going in
  • Update on the Forbidden Door show and business and key things to learn from about the business results
  • UFC 289 coverage including the retirement of Amanda Nunes, why, what about the titles she retires and other storyline notes from the most recent show and business notes as well
  • Updates on WWE Money in the Bank
  • Full coverage of All Together Now, the Japanese show with New Japan, All Japan and NOAH’s top talent and how it went down
  • Coverage of Final X
  • The most detailed look at the ratings of the wrestling and MMA shows this past week, with key breakdowns, segment-by-segment, who watches, rankings in sports and entertainment for the week
  • An attempt to make a superstar with a new character later this month
  • Update on Rush in AAA and TripleMania
  • New Japan Strong goes to Japan
  • More on the longest world title reigns in wrestling history
  • Movie on wrestling star to be released in September
  • Against All Odds results and Slammiversary notes
  • New AEW hires
  • What was Brock Lesnar’s biggest-ever one night payoff?
  • Jon Jones and Tyson Fury talk business
  • XFL business notes
  • Lots of injury updates

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

Moderators needed:

We are currently looking for two people to moderate our message board. Those interested please contact [email protected].

Ordering Info:

Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

Tuesday Update

WWE

  • Seth Rollins was unable to appear on Pat McAfee’s podcast on Tuesday, instead being replaced by Paul Heyman. Rollins wrote on Twitter: “Oh bless you boys for having to deal with that buffoon. Got stuck in the air cause Florida is a perpetual monsoon. I owe ya’s one…. Luckily, I’m finally in Orlando and the #WHC WILL BE on the line tonight on @WWENXT!”
  • Sports Illustrated has an interview with Bron Breakker, who challenges Rollins for the World Heavyweight title on Tuesday’s NXT. “This is my biggest opportunity in sports,” he said. “Seth Rollins is outstanding. He’s proven that for over 10 years. But I just don’t think he’s ever faced anyone who is as hungry as I am right now.”
  • Kevin Owens paid tribute to AIW and its owners following Monday’s Raw in Cleveland, Ohio.
  • Dakota Kai provided an update on Instagram following knee surgery: “I’m outta my brace and back wearing sweatpants with holes in the knees.”
  • Mike Johnson has notes from a recent Cyndi Laper documentary, which touches on her brief run in WWE with Wendi Richter, who is also interviewed.
  • Matches added to WWE’s YouTube today include Asuka vs. Nikki Cross in a Last Woman Standing match from the June 28, 2017 edition of NXT, Bobby Lashley vs. Chad Gable, Otis, and Theory from the June 20, 2022 edition of Raw, and Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka vs. Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch vs. Carmella from the June 20, 2022 edition of Raw.

AEW

Other Wrestling

KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji to reunite in NOAH, challenge for GHC tag titles

Posted on by Ian Carey

KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji are set to challenge for the GHC Tag Team Championships. 

On Wednesday’s Pro Wrestling NOAH show from Tokyo, Marufuji issued a challenge to champions Takashi Sugiura & Satoshi Kojima. The match was then made official for NOAH The New Year 2023 on Sunday, January 1 from the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. 

It will be the first time Marufuji & KENTA have teamed together since May 2014. The pair are former GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions and were voted Tag Team of the Year in The Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards in 2003 and 2004. The two have also faced each other in singles competition on 13 occassions including Marufuji’s 20th Anniversary show in 2018. 

Three matches have been announced for NOAH The New Year 2023. The lineup thus far is as follows:

  • GHC Tag Team Champions Takashi Sugiura & Satoshi Kojima defend against KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji
  • GHC Heavyweight Champion Kaito Kiyomiya defends against Kenoh
  • The Great Muta vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

NOAH’s Keiji Mutoh vacates GHC Tag Team titles due to hip injury

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Keiji Mutoh & Naomichi Marufuji of Pro Wrestling NOAH announced in a press conference today they were vacating the GHC Tag Team titles due to Mutoh suffering from a left hip injury.

Mutoh and Marufuji held a press conference today to reveal the news. Mutoh said that while he had hip issues for a while, they worsened at NOAH’s Budokan Hall show that took place on January 1. He also said that he needed to take a painkiller injection before his match at the NOAH vs. New Japan card that took place at Yokohama Arena on January 8.

Mutoh, who turns 60 in December, said during the conference that he will return and wants to become GHC National Champion.

Marufuji and Mutoh won the championships back on November 13, defeating Kaito Kiyomiya and Masa Kitamiya. Mutoh’s most recent match was at Bumper Cromp 2022 back on January 16, where he and Marufuji successfully retained the titles against Kenoh and Manabu Soya.

NOAH’s Katsuhiko Nakajima wins GHC Heavyweight title

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Katsuhiko Nakajima has recaptured the NOAH GHC Heavyweight title.

Nakajima defeated Naomichi Marufuji this morning at NOAH’s Grand Square event to win the championship for a second time. The finish had both men striking each other inside the ring. Nakajima cut off Marufuji with a death valley driver, then connected with a spike brainbuster to win the championship.

After the bout, Nakajima cut a promo saying that winning the GHC title was not enough. Masato Tanaka came out to challenge him, saying Nakajima hasn’t beaten him up yet. Nakajima accepted the challenge, saying he will “eat him up deliciously”. He ended the promo by saying a new era has taken shape, and that he was NOAH.

Nakajima had won the N1 Victory tournament on October 3, defeating Kenoh in the finals to earn tonight’s GHC Heavyweight title match. Nakajima is the first person to win the N1 Finals back-to-back, defeating Kaito Kiomiya in the finals of last year’s tournament.

Marufuji wins GHC Heavyweight title at CyberFight Festival

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Naomichi Marufuji captured the GHC Heavyweight Championship at this morning’s CyberFight Festival 2021 event.

Marufuji defeated Keiji Mutoh in the main event, pinning Mutoh after a knee strike. Mutoh held the title for 114 days, defeating Go Shiozaki at NOAH’s Destination 2021 event back on February 12. 

This marks Marufuji’s fourth reign as GHC Heavyweight Champion, tying Takashi Sugiura and Shiozaki for the most title reigns.

After his title win, Marufuji cut a short promo saying to keep your eyes on him, Mutoh, and the top champions in DDT (Jun Akiyama) and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (Miyu Yamashita). Both Akiyama and Yamashita then came out and cut short promos with Yamashita closing the show by saying the three champions will move forward.

The GHC Heavyweight title match was the third of three main events that took place at CyberFight Festival, a supercard featuring wrestlers from Pro Wrestling NOAH, DDT, and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling that took place at the Saitama Super Arena. Akiyama retained the KO-D Openweight title, defeating HARASHIMA. Yamashita defeated Yuka Sakazaki to retain the TJPW Princess of Princess Championship.

Pro Wrestling NOAH, DDT to merge into single company

Posted on by Bryan Rose

DDT and Pro Wrestling NOAH will soon merge into one promotion.

A press conference was held this morning to announce the merger of the two companies into one promotion, which will be called CyberFight. The promotion will be named after DDT and NOAH’s parent company, CyberAgent. These changes will go into effect on September 1.

Both promotions, as well as Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling and GanPro, will continue to operate as separate brands within the promotion. Sanshiro Takagi, who recently took over as president of Pro Wrestling NOAH in January, will serve as president of the new promotion with NOAH star Naomichi Marufuji and DDT star Akito serving as EVPs. 

In the press conference, Takagi stressed that the in-ring content of both promotions will remain the same. He said that the move to merge the companies is a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to streamline costs.

Takagi also said that one of the goals of the new company is to run a Tokyo Dome event.