Naomichi Marufuji (丸藤正道, Marufuji Naomichi; born September 26, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler, wrestling executive, and restaurateur. He is signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where is the vice-president of CyberFight, the parent company of Noah (a role he has held since 2020). Known as the Genius of the Ark (方舟の天才, Hakobune no Tensai), Marufuji is the current GHC National Champion in his first reign and former four-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, as well as the first of two men to win Junior Heavyweight Championships in all three major Japanese promotions (Minoru Tanaka is the other). Marufuji is widely referred to as one of the most influential professional wrestlers of the modern era, inspiring many international and national wrestlers such as Seth Rollins, Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, and others; his notes as an influential wrestler have garnered him the nickname "The Mastermind Behind Modern Wrestling". Marufuji made his wrestling debut in 1998 as part of All Japan Pro Wrestling and its dojo; after the 2000 Exodus, he joined his only surviving trainer and mentor, Mitsuharu Misawa, to join Pro Wrestling Noah, a promotion he has worked for consistently since its founding. He, along with Takashi Sugiura, are the only two members of the Noah roster who have remained in the company since its founding. After a successful run as a junior heavyweight wrestler in his early Noah run, he advanced to the heavyweight division, quickly winning the GHC Heavyweight Championship in an upset win against Jun Akiyama. He lost the title of Misawa later on, yet stayed as both as heavyweight and junior heavyweight wrestler. In May 2026, he won the GHC National Championship, becoming the first and only wrestler to win every single title in both the heavyweight and junior heavyweight divisions in Pro Wrestling Noah.
Source: “Naomichi Marufuji”, English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), excerpt
