Jake Lee Doesn't Think Pro Wrestling NOAH Is Inferior To NJPW

Since its creation by Mitsuhara Misawa in 2000, Pro Wrestling NOAH has competed with industry leaders New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. While many people believe it has become a race for second place behind NJPW since the untimely death of Misawa in 2009, one member of the NOAH roster made it clear that he thinks differently.

Current GHC Heavyweight Champion Jake Lee, who previously competed in AJPW, gave his take on comparisons between NJPW and NOAH coming out of the companies' recent inter-promotional warfare. In an interview on the Pro Wrestling NOAH YouTube channel, Lee was defensive of his company and not his current rival when the subject of Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Kazuchika Okada came up. "I think many people who watched the match felt IWGP was better than GHC, but I didn't feel so," Lee admitted.

The "Good Looking Guy" cited the rich history of the GHC Heavyweight Championship as a reason why it is just as meaningful as the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. "It's just that GHC Champion Kiyomiya lost to Okada. It's just that. I don't feel NOAH is inferior to NJPW. This is my honest opinion."

Despite Lee's prideful stance on the subject, the recent inter-promotional feuds between each company have routinely ended in NJPW's favor. Beyond just the Champion vs. Champion matches at Keiji Muto's retirement show, the Best of 5 Series between NJPW's Los Ingobernables De Japon and NOAH's KONGO faction at Wrestle Kingdom 17 Day 2 also ended in a 3-2 victory for L.I.J.