EXODUS: The Split That Formed Pro Wrestling NOAH (And How AJPW Survived It)

Comments · 228

• ON

  @OnslaughtGaming360 · 3 years ago

  Thank you for fighting the system and getting these documentaries up kim! Theres a serious demand for old school puroresu content and you fill that gap! Thank you!!

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• KY

  @KylePrime_1986 · 3 years ago

  RIP Misawa and Baba. You're both missed greatly

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• RA

  @Rando1975 · 3 years ago

  Baba was one of the few promoters, that the wrestlers seem to have a lot of respect for.

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• 12

  @12345678901011213 · 3 years ago (edited)

  Over all I absolutely love this but one thing you got wrong here is that Tenryu did win the Triple Crown in his first run in the company. June 5th 1989.

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• MI

  @MixedHinkHall · 3 years ago

  Motoko has to be one of the biggest bag fumblers of all time IMAGINE MAKING SOMEONE SICK OF BOOKING THEMSELVES TO GET OVER🤦🏻‍♀️

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• JA

  @jack-exzolt9858 · 3 years ago

  Giant Baba is the complete Anti-Thesis of Antonio Inoki. While the latter was known for being the most strict mentor, Giant Baba was well-known for being the most wholesome. He had eye for young talents and was known to be the prime example of Veteran Sympathy in wrestling history. As he would go through great lengths to cultivate future generations of wrestlers in his stable, like a father to his sons. <br><br>This was one of the reasons why Giant Baba was well-loved by Japan itself. Because when he died, they didn&apos;t just lost a legend, they lost a father figure they&apos;ve always looked up to.

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• SO

  @SoftBank47 · 3 years ago (edited)

  As a Noah fan, this reminds me of the hazy green summertime that was Noah’s early days. We’re on better footing now, we have indeed returned to the Dome, but it’ll never be the same as it was over 20 years ago.<br><br>I also lived in Japan for a few years. When the topic came up, older people I worked with still called him simply, “Baba-san.” That’s how revered he still is.

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• HA

  @Haiasi_Eel · 3 years ago

  Anyone who worked for Giant Baba said how much INTEGRITY he had as promoter. Its incredible how much respect he garnered.

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• KO

  @kokotheclown2588 · 3 years ago

  Kim out here dropping banger videos and teaching me more about Japanese wrestling and their backstage politics

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• WS

  @WSK9002 · 3 years ago

  Still blows my mind that All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH are still in business, they are both in their own way, the Impact Wrestling of Japan, lol. &nbsp;Seriously and not joking, both brands have survived incidents that ended much smaller brands, see the death of David Von Erich and World Class Championship Wrestling as an example. &nbsp;To be frank, I think what occurred to Pride and other Japanese MMA brands in the early 2010&apos;s, helped Pro Wrestling in Japan.

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• AI

  @AidanG1417 · 3 years ago

  It&apos;s awesome to see someone doing in depth looks at All Japan/NOAH. I think it&apos;s one of the most fascinating eras in wrestling and there are so many things to talk about. I don&apos;t think Giant Baba gets as much credit for booking and general promotion as he deserves. The stability he brought to his promotion and the ability to create stars in Tenryu, Tsuruta, Misawa, Kawada, Kobashi, and others over the years is hard to beat, and his ability to book the Champion Carnival to not only protect the top stars, but also help make new ones is probably only rivaled by Gedo&apos;s G1 booking in recent years. Although All Japan by the 90&apos;s was the most conservative of the major wrestling promotions, it&apos;s important to remember that some of the production choices made by Baba with the introduction of entrance music and lighting for wrestling shows was, at the time, revolutionary. All Japan also pioneered the merchandising of wrestling in the 70&apos;s with T-shirts, music, and other souvenirs. I think it&apos;s a shame that Motoko and Misawa weren&apos;t able to work together because the split probably damaged the popularity of wrestling long term. Motoko probably gets more criticism because she was not well liked by the locker room or in the media but she was somewhat justified in wanting to keep things the way they were. Sure house show business wasn&apos;t doing great, but the Tokyo-centric All Japan was still selling out the big Budokan shows which were really the big money makers, the TV ratings were excellent given the poor time slot the promotion had, and the promotion was overall still very profitable. In the end I don&apos;t blame Misawa and Co for leaving though since she apparently was unwilling to negotiate at all.

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• MA

  @mann3ify · 3 years ago

  A wild and young Haku without a beard! Anyway, it&apos;s sad that AJPW is now an Indy fed rather than a major promotion and Giant Baba is very missed by people who endear him.

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