One of the trademarks of NJPW is their dojo system. Most of their top stars have come through this system, being signed young and tried by the old stars of the company. Currently there are three active dojos. There is the normal NJPW dojo in Noge, Japan, the L.A Dojo in the United States, and the Fale Dojo in Australia. The L.A Dojo is notably run by Katsuyori Shibata, and is producing the hardest hitting of the new batch of rookies. The newest dojo will be opened in May in Auckland, New Zealand. It was announced during the Osaka press conference by Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi.
It Will Have The Same Goals As All Other NJPW Dojos
The NJPW Dojo system have made way for some of the best in the world. From old stars like Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura to current IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito & Jay White. There are a few exceptions like Kazuchika Okada, who was initially trained by Ultimo Dragon at the Toryumon Dojo in Mexico before making his way to the NJPW system.
Their goal has always been to ‘nurture talent with a resolve and commitment to excellence’. When you look at current top prospects like Shota Umino & Karl Fredricks, you see exactly what they mean by this. You will even see wrestlers more experienced start over at a NJPW dojo, like current student of the L.A Dojo Gabriel Kidd, or Juice Robinson.
Why New Zealand?
With New Zealand and Australia being close in proximity to Japan, they have become targets for expansion. ‘The Dojo will be called New Japan Pro-Wrestling New Zealand Dojo,’ Naoki Sugabayashi said during the press conference ‘Currently in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Bad Luck Fale, Jay White, Robbie Eagles and Toa Henare all represent Oceanic nations. We plan for the the next generation of NJPW stars to be born in this new Dojo.’
We will see more fresh and exciting stars to come out of this new dojo. Fans will just need to remain patient, as results won’t be instant. A tryout will take place across May 9th & 10th. More updates on this new training location will come out as we get closer to May.
Do you think this new dojo will help NJPW make even more stars? Will they risk stretching themselves too thin? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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