On 11/3/2025 at 4:25 PM, Doragon said:

Mr. Smack Daddy

Yoshiki Inamura.

https://www.noah.co.jp/profile/36/

Bold to wear green. 

That's pretty much the same vest he was gifted from Briggs in NXT (pretty sure his was all black but that could have been the lighting) so it checks out. At least he didn't take the lame smoking skull that Briggs wears on his vest.

8 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

I immediately thought of two things

1. Jimmy Wang Yang

2. His name is on the tip of my tongue... the last dude in Japan to do the cowboy gimmick... he was enormous, and I think he retired or died? I think he even had the TC at one time. Mustache.

EDIT: Joe Doering

Joe looked so huge in the TNA run and he wore a boss as fur to the ring. Sad to hear his cancer came back.

What we need is cowgirl gimmicks.

Fallon Henley did that in NXT before she turned heel. She still wears western-ish gear but it's not quite the same.

"Horse girl"  could be a good gimmick for someone in wrestling though. 

*Edit* Nikki Nashville aka J-Rod/Jessica Roden in WOW is a cowgirl!

Edited November 5, 2025Nov 5 by Ramo2653

Buy the SmackDaddy Shirt

Huh.. this is interesting team.

Next year we see who leave their promotions, and who joins which promotions.

Might see Go sign with AJPW.  

Mr Smack Daddy won the GHC HW, by defeating Kenta.

3 new rookies will debut next year for NOAH.

 

From Purolove 

ZERO1 "KEEP ON RUNNING 2025", 10.11.2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
keine Zuschauerangabe

1. Chris Vice & Violento Jack besiegen Yasu Kubota & Yuki Toki (7:53) nach einem Package Piledriver von Vice gegen Kubota.
2. Hikaru Shida  besiegt Yuki Mashiro (5:37) mit dem Tamashii.
3. Takuya Sugawara & Kidd Bandit besiegen Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Mikiya Sasaki (11:45) nach dem Hidden Lotus von Bandit gegen Sasaki.
4. Mammoth Sasaki  besiegt Tsugataka Sato (9:22) mit dem 29-Years-Old.
5. Special Singles Match: Mohammed Yone  besiegt Junya Matsunaga (11:48) mit dem Muscle Buster.
6. World Heavyweight Title, Decision Match: Masato Tanaka besiegt Atsushi Kotoge  (15:11) mit dem Sliding D - Titelwechsel (35th Champion).
7. Special Singles Match: Kaito Kiyomiya  besiegt Hayabusa (19:47) mit dem Skywalk Elbow.

Got a belt again.

NOAH has another Budokan new year show next year, it won't sell out of course but it's their biggest annual event. They book it for traditions and visuals and new year stuff.

I wouldn't mind WWEs Nakamura vs Kaito at the Budokan. 

I'm less harsh on AJPW comparred to NOAH, because they knew when to be fiscally conservative and cut down on expenses and shrink down, and keep at pushing their guys to get them over with their own core fans.

They actually admitted they made profit while ago, and AJPW has only been under 3 operating companies, while NOAH has been under more and bankrupt more times. 

1 hour ago, Doragon said:

NOAH has another Budokan new year show next year, it won't sell out of course but it's their biggest annual event. They book it for traditions and visuals and new year stuff.

I wouldn't mind WWEs Nakamura vs Kaito at the Budokan. 

https://www.noah.co.jp/schedule/744/

 

Mr Smack Daddy interview 

https://www.noah.co.jp/news/7537/

they gave him "Captain of the Ark ship" role. They mention generational change.

 

Here's OZAWA with his "good guy nerd looking" repentance gimmick.

From the NOAH site "The packaging features the word "repentance," and the castella itself features a portrait of OZAWA, who has "gained realization.""

anyways Kaito, Inamura, Ozawa will have to carry NOAH on their backs in the future. I still think they need to hire some old guy or outsider to boost attendances and to help get eyes on the promotion. Unlike AJPW, they have lot of money from their backers, so shouldn't be a problem to find somebody who can help...

 

On 11/13/2025 at 6:39 PM, Doragon said:

NOAH has another Budokan new year show next year, it won't sell out of course but it's their biggest annual event. They book it for traditions and visuals and new year stuff.

I wouldn't mind WWEs Nakamura vs Kaito at the Budokan. 

If you believe the Japanese rumour mill, there's a non-zero chance they're able to book something that could sell it out this year for once. Advice is if you're flying in for Wrestle Kingdom you may want to consider getting a ticket for this also.

On 11/17/2025 at 11:22 AM, Salads said:

If you believe the Japanese rumour mill, there's a non-zero chance they're able to book something that could sell it out this year for once. Advice is if you're flying in for Wrestle Kingdom you may want to consider getting a ticket for this also.

It would be weird yet interesting if they did WWE's Nakamura vs NJPW's Tanhashi in NOAH for one final time, I'm not sure if it helps NOAH though in the long run. But it would help their attendance for one big show. 

Only the 2023 Muta vs Nakamura (9500 fans) and 2025 show did above 5000 plus, since NOAH started using that building again. 

Edited November 19, 2025Nov 19 by Doragon

From NJPW "PURGE NIGHT OF TORTURE"...

Have to scroll down in the X link,

At the Budokan 

 

Not at the budokan 

At the Budokan

 

Kaito Kiyomiya 10th Anniversary Produced Tournament or card "Mad Decade"

60 min iron man between old rivals on 2025 12.7. Kaito is also in two other matches on the same show...

H Kumano used to to be a NOAH guy, he debuted in 2013 in NOAH.

AJPW used to book Sumo Hall and then they cut down on using the building later on. AJPW last booked the Sumo Hall for themselves by themselves in 2017. Everything after with AJPW on Sumo Hall shows is joint memorial and multipromotion show.

DDT still books the building, but they didn't do it for every year.

NOAH started using the building again in 2018, for most of the 2010's they didn't book the hall.

 

Edited November 21, 2025Nov 21 by Doragon

For NOAH and DDT they didn't book the Sumo Hall from 2020 to 2021. 

AJPW Players were booked for the 2019 Baba Memorial show and the joint AJPW/NJPW/NOAH All Together Again ~ If You Have Energy, You Can Do Anything! Sumo Hall shows.

NOAH started using Sumo Hall originally in 2012, then dropped doing it from 2013 to 2017.

Anyway for the Budokan, 2004 was the last time for AJPW was at the Budokan until 2022. The 2022 AJPW Budokan show would had done better attendance wise if the Covid pandemic didn't happen.

There were joint shows at the budokan, but those aren't sole AJPW shows.

The 2005 Budokan show wasn't AJPW, but Ms.Baba's own Giant Baba memorial show.

Edited November 21, 2025Nov 21 by Doragon