Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
Fresh off its wildly successful Wrestle Kingdom 12 event, New Japan president Takaaki Kidani now seems to be eyeing WWE talent or perhaps even a working relationship with WWE as a whole. In an interview with Tokyo Sports (h/t WrestlingNews.co), "Kidani said that it is important for them to build a foundation in the United States and they don’t have an adversarial relationship with WWE but they are willing to spend money to get more WWE talent on their shows. That is something they will do until WWE decides that they want to work with them."
Kidani's veiled comment of pursuing WWE talent appeared to be less of a threat and more of an open invitation to Vince McMahon to develop some sort of talent exchange between the two companies. While that may seem unlikely in 2018, the constantly evolving pro wrestling world ensures that the old adage of "never say never" has, well, never been more appropriate at a time when crazy things, like Chris Jericho working a non-WWE match for the first time in almost 20 years, seem to happen regularly.
That's why WWE, despite its long history suggesting McMahon would never do it, should seriously consider crossing over with NJPW. Here are five reasons why WWE should develop some sort of working relationship with NJPW.
WWE Is Already Working With Other Promotions
Credit: F4WOnline.comCredit: F4WOnline.com
If you think that WWE working with other promotions is something unprecedented, think again.
Uproxx.com recently posted an interesting look at how WWE is branching out and joining forces with a number of independent wrestling organizations. Triple H actually appeared for Insane Championship Wrestling in Wales while NXT star Kassius Ohno also worked for ICW, Oney Lorcan recently worked a show for Beyond Wrestling in Massachusetts, and Apollo Crews is headed to the UK's Preston City Wrestling next month.
There has long been chatter that WWE could be adding different independent organizations, including ICW, to the WWE Network, with the idea being that it will give those promotions significantly more exposure while also giving fans more reasons to subscriber to the WWE Network. That would be mutually beneficial for both parties and is something that could presumably work for New Japan as well, which already has NJPW World, its version of the WWE Network but one that is hard to navigate and doesn't have near the reach the WWE Network does.
Imagine a world, pun intended, where NJPW content is on the WWE Network, beefing up the amount of programming there while simultaneously giving a huge platform to NJPW. In fact, NXT star and WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne faced NJPW star and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay just last night in a match for IPW, marking the first time a current NJPW champion has faced a current WWE titleholder.
Wouldn't it make more sense for this to happen in WWE?
WWE's Need For New Talent
Credit: NJPWCredit: NJPW
The return of the brand split in July 2016 has really highlighted WWE's need for more main event caliber talent, an issue that a working relationship with NJPW could remedy.
According to WWE Corporate, over the course of the last year TV ratings were down for both Raw and SmackDown at the end of Q3 2017, while the WWE Network subscriber count decreased in both Q2 and Q3 last year. It seems that fans have grown accustomed to WWE cycling the same part-time talent, such as Brock Lesnar, in and out, and are looking for a major change that can truly add some excitement and intrigue to the product.
An influx of NJPW talent could certainly do that and would help solve WWE's depth issue, which has become quite apparent at times when SmackDown is clearly lacking in the star power department. While Raw generally seems to be fine with the likes of Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and a number of stars who are incredibly over right now, SmackDown doesn't have the same amount of established talent, and it often shows.
The occasional use of NJPW stars, such as Kenny Omega or Kazuchika Okada, could breathe new life into both brands by adding depth and star power to shows that often feel like they lack both of those things. Likewise, the same could be true for NJPW, which would benefit from the addition of WWE stars (think someone like Dolph Ziggler or Finn Balor), who could help NJPW continue its quest for global expansion.
">WWE has no true competition, but New Japan Pro-Wrestling is staking its claim as the No. 2 wrestling promotion in the world.
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
Fresh off its wildly successful Wrestle Kingdom 12 event, New Japan president Takaaki Kidani now seems to be eyeing WWE talent or perhaps even a working relationship with WWE as a whole. In an interview with Tokyo Sports (h/t WrestlingNews.co), "Kidani said that it is important for them to build a foundation in the United States and they don’t have an adversarial relationship with WWE but they are willing to spend money to get more WWE talent on their shows. That is something they will do until WWE decides that they want to work with them."
Kidani's veiled comment of pursuing WWE talent appeared to be less of a threat and more of an open invitation to Vince McMahon to develop some sort of talent exchange between the two companies. While that may seem unlikely in 2018, the constantly evolving pro wrestling world ensures that the old adage of "never say never" has, well, never been more appropriate at a time when crazy things, like Chris Jericho working a non-WWE match for the first time in almost 20 years, seem to happen regularly.
That's why WWE, despite its long history suggesting McMahon would never do it, should seriously consider crossing over with NJPW. Here are five reasons why WWE should develop some sort of working relationship with NJPW.
WWE Is Already Working With Other Promotions
Credit: F4WOnline.comCredit: F4WOnline.com
If you think that WWE working with other promotions is something unprecedented, think again.
Uproxx.com recently posted an interesting look at how WWE is branching out and joining forces with a number of independent wrestling organizations. Triple H actually appeared for Insane Championship Wrestling in Wales while NXT star Kassius Ohno also worked for ICW, Oney Lorcan recently worked a show for Beyond Wrestling in Massachusetts, and Apollo Crews is headed to the UK's Preston City Wrestling next month.
There has long been chatter that WWE could be adding different independent organizations, including ICW, to the WWE Network, with the idea being that it will give those promotions significantly more exposure while also giving fans more reasons to subscriber to the WWE Network. That would be mutually beneficial for both parties and is something that could presumably work for New Japan as well, which already has NJPW World, its version of the WWE Network but one that is hard to navigate and doesn't have near the reach the WWE Network does.
Imagine a world, pun intended, where NJPW content is on the WWE Network, beefing up the amount of programming there while simultaneously giving a huge platform to NJPW. In fact, NXT star and WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne faced NJPW star and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay just last night in a match for IPW, marking the first time a current NJPW champion has faced a current WWE titleholder.
Wouldn't it make more sense for this to happen in WWE?
WWE's Need For New Talent
Credit: NJPWCredit: NJPW
The return of the brand split in July 2016 has really highlighted WWE's need for more main event caliber talent, an issue that a working relationship with NJPW could remedy.
According to WWE Corporate, over the course of the last year TV ratings were down for both Raw and SmackDown at the end of Q3 2017, while the WWE Network subscriber count decreased in both Q2 and Q3 last year. It seems that fans have grown accustomed to WWE cycling the same part-time talent, such as Brock Lesnar, in and out, and are looking for a major change that can truly add some excitement and intrigue to the product.
An influx of NJPW talent could certainly do that and would help solve WWE's depth issue, which has become quite apparent at times when SmackDown is clearly lacking in the star power department. While Raw generally seems to be fine with the likes of Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and a number of stars who are incredibly over right now, SmackDown doesn't have the same amount of established talent, and it often shows.
The occasional use of NJPW stars, such as Kenny Omega or Kazuchika Okada, could breathe new life into both brands by adding depth and star power to shows that often feel like they lack both of those things. Likewise, the same could be true for NJPW, which would benefit from the addition of WWE stars (think someone like Dolph Ziggler or Finn Balor), who could help NJPW continue its quest for global expansion.
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