New Japan Pro Wrestling Planning U.S. Show
Company owner wants to run self-promoted stateside event.
In an interview with Japanese wrestling publication Weekly Pro Wrestling, New Japan owner Takaaki Kidani stated that, while he's happy with the current alliance the company has with Ring of Honor, he'd like NJPW to run its own show in the United States, preferably in a 3,000 to 4,000 seat arena.
The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer has described the company's plans for the show as "very serious."
News of a New Japan show in the U.S. should come as welcome to the promotion's many fans in the States, though the company has done North American tours with other promotions in the past. Since 2014, New Japan and Ring of Honor have run an annual joint tour under the names Global Wars and War of the Worlds, hitting cities such as New York, Chicago, Toronto, Detroit, and Philadelphia.
In 2011, New Japan teamed up with Jersey All Pro Wrestling for a pair of shows in Philadelphia and Rahway, New Jersey. At that "Attack on East Coast" tour, MVP was crowned the promotion's first Intercontinental Champion.
If New Japan's management has interest in a particular city, they haven't yet announced it - although for a show that size, New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago would seem most likely. As far as drumming up fan interest, the crowd's response to Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT TakeOver: Dallas proves that there's a built-in audience among hardcore U.S. wrestling fans that NJPW need only find out how to harness.