Following New Japan Pro Wrestling’s sale from Bushiroad to TV Asahi and Ameba late last month, many have been wondering what it means for the promotion’s future, creatively and businesswise. Meanwhile, WWE Hall of Famer and AEW star Jeff Jarrett is more focused on what led to the sale. Discussing that very point on “My World,” Jarrett first began by explaining to listeners that NJPW business philosophy was far different from American promotions like AEW and WWE.
“From a business perspective, New Japan is a 180 from WWE,” Jarrett said. “And when I say that, New Japan is driven by live events. WWE is driven by rights fees. No longer PPV, it’s Netflix, ESPN are the top two.”
After noting how this deal put NJPW and several other Japanese promotions under one umbrella, he went back to his point regarding NJPW’s focus on the live event business. Without knowing all the information, Jarrett guessed that this sale was a strong sign that NJPW’s live event business hadn’t quite recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, and could’ve prompted Bushiroad to unload it.
“For them to let it go for $30 million, Conrad, I think that just kind of says, and look, again, I don’t know the ins and outs of there…but that number to me was shockingly low without us knowing,” Jarrett said. “But I think it’s very telling, in that the live event business has not come back. They don’t project it’s going to come back anytime in the near future. New Japan World has not created a substantial revenue stream. To me, it kind of feels like some taxes were paid and Abema and the new group, I feel like they took it over.”
If you quote this article, please credit “My World with Jeff Jarrett” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
