For the record, writing an article like this is far from easy. Talking about the history and evolution of a company while keeping the flow of the piece is not easy because there are many topics to cover, some of which just won’t get the attention they deserve. But enough with that, lets board the Ark.
In Japan, “Pro Wrestling” is called “Puroresu,” or “puro” for short. In the year 2000, though no one knew it at the time, the popularity of puro was about to come crashing down, and only one man had the ability and tools to save it.
That man was Mitsuharu Misawa.
Misawa, in all probability the greatest in-ring worker in Japanese history, and for my money the best worker anywhere ever, spent the first 17 years of his career working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (other than an AJ-sponsored training stint in Mexico in 1983). 1990's All Japan is where the wrestlers worked the most realistic wrestling style ever performed, and where the vast majority of puro fans feel the best workers and best matches resided. Thus the style of wrestling being deemed "King's Road."
In 1999, after taking over as President of All Japan from Shohei “Giant” Baba after Baba’s death, Misawa, already the booker since 1998, realized that working with Motoko Baba (Giant Baba’s widow & the Linda McMahon of AJPW) was going to be next-to-impossible. Baba felt that wrestling had peaked years ago and wanted to maintain status quo so as not to upset the profitability of the product (the old “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it” concept).
On the other hand, Misawa had wanted to expand and invest, in order to further grow the brand. This made more sense seeing as the Four Corners of Heaven (Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, and Akira Taue) weren’t getting any younger, and only Jun Akiyama had stepped up as a suitable next generation Main Eventer with the potential to draw.
This fatal difference of opinion forced Misawa to realize that he could not work with Mrs. Baba, so he decided to start his own promotion. He went to the executives at NTV, one of the largest broadcasting companies in Japan, who currently ran AJ on their station, and told them of the situation and his idea. They were supportive of the idea, but also defensive because they didn’t want to look bad publicly by shunning the recent widow of a legendary Japanese figure.
This led to Misawa and NTV creating a strategy for a new company. Misawa would announce the formation of the company in mid-2000, when everyone’s yearly contract renewal was about to take place, and NTV would “board the ark” shortly thereafter.
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