We mentioned prior that in a interview a few weeks ago, NJPW’s owner Takaaki Kidani had some interesting comments about WWE. “We are entering a phase where you are either with WWE or against them”. It had many fans excited about a possible combination between the two companies.. Not many thought it would be the other way around…
One year ago WWE poached Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson… Looks like they are fighting back:
NJPW owner Kidani said “The reason why we decided to go to US is what WWE did to us one years ago. I’m really frustrated. That’s the reason”
— enuhito(English) (@enuhito_eng) January 7, 2017
Over the past week or so, NJPW has made a number of moves that are indicating that they will be fighting WWE instead of joining. They plan to expand their brand globally. Here are some examples:
Kidani: “We want to sell NJPW to Cable TV in US at a lot cheaper TV rights fee than WWE. We will build an office, a Dojo, and more.” (Tweet was deleted)
Steve Corino at their New Years Dash show said that Wrestle Kingdom 11 gained NJPW World 10,000 new subscribers, with about half of those being from the U.S.A.
NJPW have announced several moves, taking shows to the U.S and different countries. The G1 Climax is coming to Los Angeles:
G1 Climax 27 is coming to Los Angeles ??
— NJPW (@newjapaneng) January 4, 2017
[irp posts=”19063″ name=”Kenny Omega Takes Some Big Shots At The WWE Championship”]
NJPW plans to do a show in Australia in 2017:
NJPW is doing a show this year in Australia https://t.co/Ne7i8nzLPh
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) January 7, 2017
NJPW will train a lot of international talents in order to produce good wrestling matches not only Japan, but also to all over the world.
— enuhito(English) (@enuhito_eng) January 7, 2017
They launched an English website (NJPW1972.com).
Certainly looks like we could be gearing up for a war. Maybe not right away, but it looks like NJPW has chosen to fight back at WWE. Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
I mean… what’s your definition of “competing”?
viable? sure.
go toe to toe w/ WWE? not happening.
It will be good for wrestling for NJPW to come to America. WWE is safe for now…. But after NJPW gets established(after several years)… The WWE will be forced to put on superior wrestling.
Bottom line…. This is whats best for business.
Really it takes competition for wwe to make wwe put out good shows. And if there is no competition wwe can just not give a damn entertaining the fan doing what ever they want then screw wwe.
I think you misunderstood my comment… Or i worded it wrong.
I personally think WWE is at the top of their game. They put on wonderful shows with fantastic wrestling….. Bit competition would be good for NJPW & the WWE.
NJPW also, FIRST & FOREMOST, has to compete with Lucha Underground & TNA before they can compete with WWE.
Then, a MitB in Japan would be amazing, since the Japanese are not accustomed to seeing fights on stairs
It’s a mistake on WWE’s part to not work with NJPW. We’ve seen TNA start to work with ROH with Matt Hardy appearing on an ROH PPV. What if ROH/NJPW guys start appearing on TNA? And if they do, say goodbye to guys like Shinsuke/Styles/Balor when their contracts are up. Sure the pay will be less, but the schedule will be much lighter, and they’ll be with all their friends, and have the freedom to work with multiple companies, sell their own merch, etc.
WWE could have a real war again if those 3 promotions work together, and put on super show after super show. Maybe it’s the tv deal WWE has with NBC Universal that keeps them from working with promotions from other television companies (And if so, I don’t blame them. It’s a large chunk of their income). But then again, they have their own network. Maybe it’s conflicting sponsorships or something, I don’t know. I just think another Monday Night War could happen, and if another Stone Cold doesn’t come along, idk if WWE will come out on top again.