One MIND-BLOWING Secret From Every Year Of WWE History
10. 2015 - Did WWE Try To F*ck On NJPW?
Paul Levesque and WWE seemed to want to do something with New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2015, and the use of Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger was key. After getting the legend on board to work NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, subsequent moves were made.
According to then NJPW Chairman Takaaki Kidani, those attempted moves were cynical in the extreme and inspired by the old playbook.
Kidani stated in October 2015 that WWE had approached NJPW about using footage for the WWE Network. Kidani surmised that WWE’s intentions were nefarious.
“This type of proposal just shows that they don’t see us as competition,” he said. “Play NJPW footage on the Network, see if any of our wrestlers gain popularity, then buy that wrestler out. It’s a very obvious strategy.”
Kidani was incredibly astute here: this is precisely how the WWF launched the national expansion in the early 1980s. The stars of the territories were piloted, enjoyed the new national exposure, and were then recruited to the WWF after their old promoters thought they were done a favour.
NJPW shut that sh*t down immediately and launched a western expansion of their own - the irony being that the wrestlers did gain popularity, Kenny Omega in particular, and you know the rest.