JBL: WWE Likely to Move into Japan Following NJPW TV Deals

AAA commentator and former WWE Champion JBL told Something To Wrestle With he was surprised New Japan Pro-Wrestling sold shares to TV Asahi and CyberAgent instead of WWE, and suggested the move fits a long-standing WWE playbook for global expansion. “I think what they did with AAA, I think what they have a potential to do in the U.K., I think they’re going to do that in Japan,” JBL said, adding he’d be surprised if WWE hadn’t bought or partnered with a Japanese company by year’s end.

WWE’s global localisation has been slowed by the pandemic, stalling plans such as NXT UK’s transition to NXT Europe and talk of an NXT Japan, but under the TKO umbrella the company may pursue outright purchases or deeper partnerships — as it has with NOAH and past UK partners PROGRESS and ICW — to accelerate its international footprint.

Originally reported by Wrestling Observer: https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/jbl-wwe-aaa-uk-japan-nxt-cyberagent-tv-asahi/.