STARDOM Founder Rossy Ogawa To Launch New Wrestling Promotion

Following his Bushiroad firing, Rossy Ogawa intends to start a new wrestling promotion.

by Andrew Pollard
Rossy Ogawa
Bushiroad

Having now been fired by Bushiroad, STARDOM co-founder Rossy Ogawa has laid out his intentions to start a new wrestling promotion.

Speaking to Tokyo Sports (via the Wrestling Observer), Ogawa announced his plans to launch a new promotion where he'll be able to do the things he was unable to do in STARDOM. No further details were given about this new company at this stage.

Ogawa was fired by Bushiroad on Sunday following STARDOM 13th Anniversary Supreme Fight 2024: Osaka Minami Rebellion, with the organisation - which owns both STARDOM and New Japan Pro-Wrestling - accusing Rossy of poaching talent and staff. Ogawa denies these allegations.

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Rossy Ogawa founded all-women's promotion STARDOM back in 2010 with Fuka Kakimoto and Nanae Takahashi, with the company soon becoming the go-to place for some of the very best female wrestlers on the planet. Bushiroad purchased STARDOM in 2019, and Ogawa maintained his executive producer position under the belief he'd have final say on STARDOM decisions.

Frustrated at being overruled by then-Bushiroad President Katsuhiko Harada and later Harada's replacement, Taro Okada, Ogawa gave his notice to Bushiroad and intended to finish up with the company on 18 February. Instead, Bushiroad has since opted to fire Ogawa and have him depart the organisation a little earlier than expected.

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Interestingly, the news of Rossy Ogawa's firing was accompanied by reports of a possible mass talent exodus from STARDOM, as the vast majority of talent will be out of contract in March. So much so, the only STARDOM wrestler tied to a long-term deal is IWGP Women's Champion Mayu Iwatani. Given how many STARDOM names have a strong sense of loyalty to Ogawa for giving them their big break, this is certainly a situation to keep an eye on.

 
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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 dayjob, 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.