New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s (NJPW) efforts to create an American offshoot have come to an abrupt end as the company has closed its United States subsidiary and plans to liquidate its assets.
Americans have so many sports options on television that it’s rare for an overseas sport to gain traction with American viewers. In pro wrestling, that has been especially true, as even die-hard fans struggle to keep up with the major American brands, let alone watch the top promotions from Mexico, Japan, and Europe.
As a wrestling fan who watches the top two U.S. promotions, WWE and AEW, that’s nine hours of new programming in a regular week, plus monthly four- to five-hour premium events or pay-per-views. Add in TNA and WWE offshoot NXT, and that’s another four hours of weekly shows.
All of those brands also tour and have live television tapings, so there’s no shortage of American options to see live either.
NJPW had hoped to break into the U.S. market and has been running shows in America since 2019. Now, the company is changing its efforts to build an American following, but it’s not giving up.
New Japan closes its U.S. subsidiary
The company, which is owned by TV Asahi and CyberAgent, shared a brief statement on its website.
“New Japan Pro-Wrestling hereby announces that subsidiary New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America Inc. will cease operations and enter liquidation,” the company shared.
It offered a little bit of explanation, but did not fully share why the decision was made.
“As NJPW continues to optimize allocation of management resources in a rapidly changing business environment, the decision was made to close the subsidiary, which was founded in 2019,” it added.
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The shutdown, however, does not mean the end of events in the U.S.
“Moving forward, NJPW events in North America will continue to be held with the full backing and resources of the TV Asahi group, as part of a new chapter in NJPW’s ongoing global expansion,” the company posted.
NJPW ran a regular schedule of small events in the U.S. using a mix of its regular stars, AEW-contracted talent, and some American independent wrestlers. The company has not shared whether the shutdown impacts any employees or wrestlers it had under contract.
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Pro wrestling is about television rights
As a longtime pro wrestling fan, I have seen the business change. In the 1980s and even into the 1990s, wrestling television shows existed to drive fans to live events.
As a kid, I would see Hulk Hogan beat a local talent (known in the industry as a jobber), and then he would appear later, usually with the legendary announcer “Mean” Gene Okerlund, to hype his next match at my local arena, the Boston Garden.
Every market got the same matches with localized promos trying to drive fans to buy tickets.
In those days, WWE actually paid local stations to air its programs, as it made its money from live ticket sales.
That has changed. Now, most live events held by AEW and WWE are live television shows. The ticket sale numbers are significant, but pale in comparison with their TV deals.
WWE gets about $1.19 billion a year for TV rights. AEW gets an estimated $150 million to $185 million, so WWE takes in about six to eight times as much.
TheStreet.
Source: Wrestlenomics
New Japan lacks a major TV deal
While New Japan is partially owned by TV Asahi, it does not have a major rights deal and makes most of its money off live ticket sales.
“Media rights are easily the biggest revenue stream for top wrestling companies like WWE. That’s increasingly been the case in recent years,” wrote Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston.
New Japan has never had a major television deal in the U.S. It did have a show on AXS, a minor cable network, that aired edits of its Japanese programs with English commentary. It now has a deal with Roku.
That deal was announced in 2021.
“The professional wrestling promotion will air a one-hour weekly series on the Roku Channel beginning Feb. 11 and will air every Thursday thereafter beginning at 5 p.m. Episodes will then be available on-demand to Roku’s estimated 61.8 million users for free with ads. Additionally, the Roku Channel will host a block of library content, featuring key highlights from the 2020 NJPW catalog,” IMDB.com reported.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Running shows in the U.S. was an attempt by the brand to tap into the lucrative U.S. television market. This may not be the end of those efforts, but it’s a setback to anyone hoping for a larger American presence for NJPW.
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