Tag: All Japan Pro Wrestling

NJPW And AJPW Cancel More Shows Due To The Coronavirus Outbreak

In response to the novel Coronavirus outbreak, NJPW and AJPW have announced that they will be cancelling their events scheduled between March 16 through March 21 and March 14 through March 22 respectively. New Japan’s cancelled dates will result in the cancellation of the New Japan Cup tour.

New Japan had previously cancelled the first half of the New Japan Cup tour earlier this month. Many other promotions in Japan have announced cancellations of events earlier this month as well in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan.

Stardom recently held a show called “No People Gate” in response to the events they cancelled. They also announced recently that they will be canceling more shows. This was an empty arena show held in Korakuen Hall and was broadcast live on YouTube for free.

New Japan have been releasing videos for their NJPW Together Project on NJPW World in replacement for the cancelled shows. New Japan’s next big show is Sakura Genesis. The show is scheduled for March 31, and in their official statement, New Japan has stated that they will be making an announcement in regards to the status of future shows.

In their statement, they said, “We apologize to fans who were looking forward to the remainder of the New Japan Cup. Ultimately, the health and safety of our fans, wrestlers and staff, as well as society at large is our utmost concern, and we will make announcements about events scheduled after March 22 upon careful monitoring of this developing situation.”

https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1237288925745446913

https://twitter.com/alljapan_pw/status/1237267546367094784

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Concern In Japan Over WWE Expansion Plans, WWE Talking With Legendary Promotion For WWE NXT Japan

WWE and All Japan Pro Wrestling are in talks about a possible partnership, according to Wrestling Observer Radio.

It was noted that WWE is “making moves” in Japan and while nothing is official, they are focused on getting the WWE NXT Japan brand going. The goal is to launch the brand this year, but there’s no word yet on how close they are. WWE has had talks with a number of Japanese pro wrestling companies about teaming up, including Pro Wrestling NOAH before they were bought earlier this year, and they have tried to purchase at least one Japanese company. It’s said to be inevitable that WWE will have the NXT Japan brand and the WWE Japan Performance Center, it’s just a matter of working everything out.

There’s also reportedly concern in the country over how WWE might disrupt the Japanese pro wrestling industry, according to the report. This concern is based on how WWE launched the NXT UK brand and changed the pro wrestling landscape in the UK and Europe. It was reported earlier this year that WWE had reached out to WWE Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki, as well as Japanese politician & former pro wrestler Hiroshi Hase, about the political situation surrounding the planned WWE Japan Performance Center.

Legendary Japanese star Jun Akiyama will be guest coaching at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando from Tuesday, May 12 through Friday, May 22. This PC stint for Akiyama is part of the talks with AJPW. Triple H and Akiyama have had talks about bringing him in since last summer.

Source: Wrestling Inc.