This week on Omakase I was joined by returning guest Tanner (@Tanner1495) to discuss a period of wrestling history we're both very passionate about: the early days of Pro Wrestling NOAH! We define the beginning era as from the very start until Kenta Kobashi's GHC Heavyweight title win in March of 2003 (from then on begins what you would probably call the "peak era"), so we cover that entire period, starting of course with the AJPW/NOAH split. We provide an overview of some of the major matches of the three years and various title tournaments, as well as the first ever Differ Cup. We also discuss the Shinya Hashimoto/Zero-1 situation, as that involves itself with early NOAH as well. The matches we discuss in the most detail are:
-2000: first main event (Kobashi/Akiyama-Misawa/Taue), both Kobashi-Akiyama matches, Hashimoto-Omori
-2001: Misawa/Ogawa-Hashimoto/Otsuka, Misawa-Akiyama GHC Title
-2002: Misawa/Kobashi-Akiyama/Nagata
-2003: Misawa-Kobashi GHC Title
It's a fun filled trip down the memory lane of the green mat, and I hope you enjoy it!