NJPW News: President Harold Meij Addresses Talent Departures, Expansion

There has been a lot of discussion lately about All Elite Wrestling, but one of the few topics not being discussed is how AEW and their recent signings will affect NJPW. We already know that NJPW will not be working in a talent exchange with AEW, at least not right away. So how does NJPW president Harold Meij feel about the recent talent departures ? In a blog entry released on Wednesday, Meji posted his thoughts.

(English translation c/o @reasonjp)

“Is New Japan OK?’ Yes it is. ‘Is this the beginning of the end?’ Twitter’s getting ahead of itself “More promotions (AEW) in the market is proof of a healthy sector with more people watching. A billion dollar market is turning into 1.3, 1.5 billion. It’s not a tiny space with everyone fighting over scraps anymore. I used to be in charge of a 1.8 billion dollar business. Not the entire industry, a company worth that much. And forgive me for saying, I did pretty well. And New Japan has a great structure, our people have a lot of skill and know how, and our wrestlers are great.

“Talent will come and go. That’s life. Half of Japanese people have had more than one occupation. More overseas. There are different life stages, priorities change. What counts is that while here, people shine as bright as possible and produce the best product possible for us. Our job as a business in New Japan is to make sure our wrestlers are not spending their life worrying about ticket sales, living expense, feeding their family, or injury. They need to be able to focus on the ring.

“I often see talk along the lines of ‘Since Meij came in, they’re only looking at international, they don’t care about Japan.’ That couldn’t be more wrong. New Japan has gotten to the stage that the world has taken notice of it and we can do these things abroad. I’m not pushing the company international; if anything it’s the other way round. I’m doing my job as a professional to fulfill very strong demand. I didn’t get this job because I’m foreign. International business is one string to my bow. There’s a lot more I can do, and a lot more I have to do in Japan. I have done, and am doing a lot, more than you can see, to increase revenue.

Jason’s Take
Meji is right, more promotions in the market is good for wrestling overall. I’ve said it many times that today is one of the best times to be a wrestling fan, ever. While we may never see a Monday Night War era popularity any time soon, the sheer number of alternatives out there is amazing.

I can see NJPW eventually ending up being in agreement to exchange talent in the future with All Elite, however I think Meji is taking a wait and see approach. With the signing of Chris Jericho by AEW, I have to wonder if the framework for a talent exchange isn’t already in place.