Dissent From Top NJPW Talent Towards New Ownership Regime?

Pointed public complaints from Hiroshi Tanahashi continue subtle backlash against Harold Meij's team

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NJPW1972.com

The New Japan Pro Wrestling roster may have had mixed emotions flying home from Long Beach, California's Fighting Spirit Unleashed on Sunday after a strong card over-delivered in front of an under-sized audience, but it's an all-too-familiar feeling according to reports on backstage morale in this week's Wrestling Observer.

Dutch President Harold Meij took the reigns in May 2018, with a view of continuing the exceptional work done over the last few years to transfer some of NJPW's domestic success into their global reach. Anecdotally, product interest outside of Japan still seems high, but some questionable booking in the G1 Climax in particular kickstarted some concern amongst outsiders that the robust booking and star-making mechanisms may be compromised as a result.

The rumoured backstage upheaval reported first by Dave Meltzer marries up with criticisms company 'Ace' Hiroshi Tanahashi recently levied at the organisation. He spoke on the booking of the last Long Beach card, questioning "Was that [The Golden Lovers Vs The Young Bucks] really a New Japan main event?!?" before noting that “I really felt then that if NJPW was going to keep going to America, we needed to stop trying to alter things to try and make them more American. It should be New Japan Pro Wrestling, as is, in the States. We really need to show that ‘Made In Japan’ aspect, I think.”

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett