Jake Lee's Pro Wrestling NOAH Debut Match Announced

The first major wrestling event of the year is officially in the books. Pro Wrestling NOAH The New Year 2023 took place on January 1 inside Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The event saw WWE's Shinsuke Nakamura take part in the main event as a part of The Great Muta's retirement road, but he wasn't the only big name to make an appearance.

Former AJPW Triple Crown Champion Jake Lee appeared following the sixth match of the show, which saw Scottish wrestler Jack Morris defeat former "NXT" star Timothy Thatcher. Lee first looked as if he'd come to blows with Morris but instead opted to shake the Scotsman's hand, seemingly aligning with him in his first appearance for the company.

It was announced back in December that Lee was leaving AJPW at the end of 2022, though his destination was still unknown until now. Some speculated that Lee could land in NJPW, possibly heading a new faction in the wake of Suzuki-Gun's demise. However, it is now clear that the 33-year-old star will make NOAH his home moving forward.

Hours after his appearance at NOAH's first show of the year, Lee's first match with the company was announced on the company's official Twitter account. The former AJPW star will face Yoshiki Inamura at NOAH's New Sunrise 2023 event on January 8. While it remains to be seen how major Lee's role in the company will be as time goes on, it seems that NOAH has big plans for the 11-year veteran.