According to a report from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, NJPW parent company Bushiroad put out its annual report and had a shareholder’s meeting earlier this week. During the meeting, departing president Harold Meij revealed that it wasn’t his decision to leave the company. It’s believed Bushiroad made the call and he never tried to say otherwise.
“It wasn’t my will. The decision was made by the company. I wanted to stay for the rest of my career.”
Bushiroad COO Yoshitaka Hashimoto said the following:
“He accomplished his initial missions that was (Bushiroad) going public, strengthen the regulatory compliance of Bushiroad Group and raised the presence of New Japan in society.”
The belief is that there were several people who were critical of him, particularly with the company losing a TV deal and international stars. One person who has three decades in the business said that, historically, the worst people running companies were those that came in and knew nothing about wrestling. The source said they feel now that the worst are those who know a little about wrestling but don’t understand it. Meij stayed away from booking and focused on the business side of things.
The financials for the company were also revealed. From August 1, 2019 to July 30, 2020, Bushiroad Sports companies (New Japan and Stardom) grossed $48 million, down 5.8% from last year, likely due to the pandemic. They didn’t list profits this year, although it’s believed to be around $2 million. They also didn’t list total attendance, but that is believed to be 436,000.
Subscriptions for New Japan World were at 100,000 at the end of July, about the same level it was at in 2018 due to Omega vs. Jericho. It’s believed the current number is slightly above that, due to a domestic increase in sus during the G1. There was no international growth, however. The streaming service was described as a key to win over new fans internationally. More English-language content was promised.
Hashimoto made the following statement:
“Our mission is to increase sales of visual contents in international markets. We will invest more in shows in the U.S.A. that is the focal point of the international market, build good relationships with international sport agencies, TV stations and online platforms.”
One of the biggest goals is getting both NJPW and STARDOM on American television at some point. However, most American sports stations aren’t interested in much international sports except for soccer, so this may be a hard sell.
