TV Asahi, Stardom’s Taro Okada comment on future of NJPW following ownership change
Following Wednesday’s surprise news that TV Asahi and CyberAgent had acquired the majority of shares in New Japan Pro Wrestling from Bushiroad, the Japanese broadcast outlet has spoken about the deal to Tokyo Sport.
In the story (translated into English), an unnamed spokesperson said the deal was made “to further strengthen cooperation in the development and rollout of content and IP, and to work together to create powerful content and IP with an eye toward global expansion, thereby further increasing the corporate value of both companies.”
Bushiroad, which oversaw NJPW through its 2010s revival and international expansion efforts, transferred all of its shares in the promotion to TV Asahi and CyberAgent, making the wrestling brand a consolidated subsidiary of the broadcaster with support from the massive entertainment company publicly traded in Japan.
In terms of how they are going to run it, the only comment relayed was from Tokyo Sport who wrote “it is highly likely that a new system will be established with TV Asahi as the main operator.”
The article also mentions Stardom and speculates as to the future of the women’s brand. It included a quote from Stardom president Taro Okada who said that “coordination between the two sides will start from here” but they would like to continue working together.
Both NJPW president Hiroshi Tanahashi and Bushiroad founder Takaaki Kidani issued positive statements about the change Wednesday.
We’ll have more on this story with Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez tonight on Wrestling Observer Radio.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.