The Ballad of Cara Noir in Japan

By: James Carlin

It was at Korakuen Hall at Jun Akiyama‘s 30th Anniversary show in 2022 that the Japanese audience first got their taste of Cara Noir. They marvelled at the beauty of his entrance, walking to the ring accompanied by Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake as he presented his mask and showed off his wings in the middle of the ring.

Presentation is undoubtedly an important part of professional wrestling, and if the magnificent, elegant and majestic entrance of the Black Swan didn’t lure you in to watching more, then his wrestling certainly will.

Actions speak louder than words for Cara Noir. He never says a word, but backs up his mysterious allure with an inventive and unique moveset that you’d never anticipate from a former ballet dancer. He’s also trained in MMA, a black belt that can dish out brutal attacks using the power of his legs at any given time. Most notably is his Swan Woo dropkick that sends opponents flying from one side of the ring to the other, setting them up for his finishing manoeuvre, the Blackout Sleeper.

DDT Pro-Wrestling got its own rude awakening when Yuki Ueno announced that he wanted Cara Noir to be the first challenger to his newly own Universal Championship. The match would finally allow the Black Swan to swim across the pond from where he made his name in Europe and begin engaging in some of the greatest professional wrestling of all time over in Japan.

Noir’s next appearance following his debut would be his title challenge against Yuki Ueno, taking the member of The 37KAMIINA to his limits in just his very first defense of the championship. Ueno was initially caught off guard by the Black Swan exhibiting a similar fast and athletic style to his own, but he prevailed. Despite losing at the end of the match, Noir had earned the respect of the champion, the fans in attendance, and those watching at home.

Three months later, the Black Swan would return to DDT at Tokyo Dome City Hall on December 29th, taking part in a four-way with Chris Brookes, MAO and Daisuke Sasaki which MAO would end up winning. It was another high-speed contest, but it showed in the types of settings that Cara Noir flourishes the most. Two days later, he would feature in another tag team match alongside Drew Parker, Konosuke Takeshita and Rickey Shane Page, successfully defeating Kazumasa Yoshida, Kazumi Kikuta, Takuho Kato and Yuji Okabayashi.

Cara Noir capped off his time with DDT Pro-Wrestling (for now) by teaming with former rival Yuki Ueno to defeat DAMNATION T.A’s MJ Paul and KANON at DDT Hatsuyume on January 3rd at Korakuen Hall.

The time that the Black Swan has had in DDT has been brief, yet he’s fit in perfectly there since his first match back in September. The company since its inception in 1997 has always prided itself on having something for everyone: hard hitting puroresu, comedy, sex appeal, and Cara Noir is only the latest addition to the rotating foreign roster that has brought his unique flair and presentation to the product, wowing audiences with his theatrics and wowing them again with his incredible in-ring ability that combines fast-paced action with hard-hitting kicks and devastating power moves.

Cara Noir had his breakout year in 2019, which was promptly halted by the pandemic the following year. With restrictions now lifted, there’s no doubt that the Black Swan is going to have his second breakout year not only in the Japanese wrestling sphere, but in the wider wrestling world too.

If you have the chance to see the Black Swan at a local wrestling show, it’ll be worth the admission price just to see his match and whoever he finds himself up against.