The fate of the United States based branch of New Japan Pro Wrestling recently was put into question. Hiroshi Tanahashi would note in a blog post that “NJPW Strong, which has been going on for over two years, will come to an end with this recording.” which left many fans thinking that it was being completely scrapped. However, this was only half of the story – with NJPW Strong instead getting a proper rebuilding to shift its focus.
NJPW Strong Is Getting Rebuilt For Quality Over Quantity
The president of New Japan Pro Wrestling Takami Ohbari would clarify the future of NJPW Strong in a post to his Twitter account, stating the following.
“NJPW STRONG will be rebuilt to adapt external and internal environment. We started it when the strict lockdown was forced, so we focused obviously on “continuity”.
Fortunately, fan and we are about to overcome the pandemic. We should now focus on “quality” rather than quantity.”
More Information Likely To Come At Battle In The Valley
This could simply mean they’re doing away with the taping structure, and instead running more major PPV events in major regions around the United States. The taped aspect might well be rolled into the plans for Tony Khan’s Ring Of Honor, which was promised to have “heavy NJPW involvement”.
We will undoubtedly get a major update on the future of NJPW Strong as a whole come Battle in the Valley, the next big PPV event for NJPW in the United States. The only announced match for that event is the NJPW in-ring debut of Sasha Banks, now going by the name Mercedes Mone. She will be facing KAIRI for the IWGP Women’s Championship, following her Wrestle Kingdom 17 debut.
We will likely see more matches announced over the coming weeks, and if NJPW is focusing on quality – we could be in for a tightly packed card of great matches. NJPW Strong has a fantastic roster despite being viewed as a developmental league for LA Dojo talent, and we could see them truly unleashed this year.
Are you excited for the future of NJPW Strong? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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