When Kota Ibushi won his second consecutive G1 Climax earlier this year, he was greeted by a very special man along with the trophy. It was one of only two other men to accomplish this task while the tournament has been called the G1, Masahiro Chono. The other option was Hiroyoshi Tenzan, but he’s not Mr. G1, plus Chono was on Japanese commentary for the final match. With a record five wins of the tournament under his belt, a record that might never be matched even by the likes of Kazuchika Okada, and Chono is simply iconic to the history of the tournament.
Despite all this, in 2019 he was nowhere to be found. You can usually spot him out on commentary during the finals if nothing else, but not in 2019. This was because of one of many foolish moves made by now former NJPW president, Harold Meij.
Masahiro Chono Was Kept Off Commentary By Harold Meij
During an interview with the Japanese press, Chono would recently reveal this, saying the following.
”I worked as a commentator at this year’s G-1 final. Last time was 2018. I didn’t do it last year and that was caused by Meij’s intervention. Back then there was an issue between TV Asahi and New Japan and he complained to TV Asahi about using me who was TV Asahi’s choice. TV Asahi tried to protect me, but I accepted not working because I didn’t want to cause trouble to TV Asahi.
Because Meij quit, I had no reason not to work at G-1 this year. It’s said he made more wrong decisions, that’s another story. He was the same as Seiichi Kusama who was New Japan’s president circa 2004. Meij is a professional but seemed not to fit pro-wrestling that is different to normal business. Meij didn’t understand the value of New Japan’s history. He may be only well aware of New Japan since they were acquired by Bushiroad. I think the staff at New Japan understood both New Japan’s pre-Bushiroad history and me and made me an offer this year because they thought ‘when it’s G-1, it must be Chono.”
It has been suspected that Meij kept Chono off commentary due to a comment made on air about the westernization of NJPW. This is a valid concern of many fans, and was even the storyline for the match between Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kenny Omega in the build up to their match in the Tokyo Dome in 2019. Yet Meij used it to keep Chono off the air for a tournament he helped put on the map. Comparing Meij to Kusama is especially cutting, as Kusama is considered to be the worst president in NJPW history.
Are you glad that Harold Meij has stepped down as president of NJPW? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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