Misawa's Replacement As NOAH President

[Cena's Little Helper]

According to Tokyo Sports, Akira Taue will be/has been named the new president of Pro Wrestling NOAH. Although this has been known for at least ten days, I thought I'd share this with everyone here in case they didn't know.

My thoughts: I was actually a little taken aback by this. Given that Kenta Kobashi is the heart and soul of NOAH, I thought that he'd be the obvious choice. Although Taue was considered one of the "big five" of All Japan and one of the four of the five to leave All Japan to form NOAH (Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, Jun Akiyama, and Toshiaki Kawada were the other wrestlers who comprised the big five; Kawada was the only one to stay in All Japan), he had come in recent years to take on a much more limited role in the ring. But, if anything, this probably shows how little I know about the backstage goings-on of Japanese professional wrestling companies, as they supposedly have hierarchies of importance that I have just recently found out about.

In the end, although I'm a little shocked by the choice, it is my understanding that this is what Misawa wanted. So, I can do nothing but wish Taue the best of luck in his new role.

What are your thoughts?

 

[jmt225]

I was never a big fan of Akira Taue in the ring, so yeah... I was kind of surprised by this, too. I thought as well that Kobashi was going to be the one to take over, or Misawa's wife, which the latter probably sounds ******ed but after the whole AJPW and Giant Baba deal, I just thought it was possible.

For all we know though Kobashi was offered the spot and declined, or maybe Akira Taue was groomed for this the past couple of years. Who knows... but it's going to be interesting to see where the company is headed. I definitely can't wait to see the Misawa memorial show.

Oh and for the record... thank God Kawada wasn’t there to receive an offer to take over, lol. I mean, he's a great wrestler and all, but from all accounts the guy is a serious asshole and completely unprofessional. You give him the book for NOAH and every American wrestler there either gets buried, or stops being booked period.

 

[The Hiphopapotamus]

I seriously thought it was going to be Kobashi.It was almost inconceivable to be anyone else.Unless taue was being prepared for the last while,Kobashi must have declined.He is the soul of Noah.Maybe Misawa felt he didn't have the business brain.
I hope Taue keeps Noah going,and doesn't screw it up like Baba's wife did with All Japan

 

[X]

As of today this is the new staff line-up to say:

New Line Up
Representative Director - Taue.
Executive vice-president - Marufuji, Kobashi.
Managing Director - Hayakawa Hisao.
Chairperson director (Head of Wrestlers) - Morishima.
Director of Sales Department - Mitsui Masahi.
Inspector - Higuchi

I think they made the right choice here. Taue had the most seniority, and he'll do well in the position. Honestly I don't think Kobashi is ready yet, not because of he wouldn't do a great job, but because I think Misawa's death is still weighing heavily on his mind.