Backstage Update On The Reaction To Harold Meij's NJPW Resignation

The acting president of New Japan Pro Wrestling announced his resignation yesterday.

by Andrew Pollard
Harold Meij
NJPW

With yesterday bringing word that Harold Meij was stepping down as the acting president of New Japan Pro Wrestling, now comes an update on how that news has been received by NJPW talent.

Meij announced that he would leave his position to be replaced by Takami Ohbari on 23 October, and that decision is said to have received a mixed response behind the scenes in New Japan.

In a report from Fightful Select, opinion is split on whether Meij’s resignation is a good thing or a bad thing. One unnamed long-time NJPW favourite was seemingly relieved by this news, with that star having struggled to get behind Meij’s vision for the promotion. Elsewhere, others think that Meij deserved more time in the role and that his targeted goals were unexpectedly hit hard due to the current global situation the world finds itself in.

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It may have come as a surprise to a good portion of wrestling fans, but the overwhelming feeling is that the majority of New Japan Pro Wrestling talent were ultimately not massively surprised due to so many of them seeing Meij’s initial plans are never being able to play out how he’d envisioned them.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.