WWE Opening Performance Center In Japan This Summer?
Is this a sign that NXT Japan is back on the cards?
WWE's on/off expansion into Japan looks set to continue with the announcement of a new Performance Center sometime this summer.
This is according to a new report from Dave Meltzer, who writes in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter that fans can expect to hear something sometime in the next few months - potentially summer if everything goes to plan.
The writeup states that WWE has already spoken to Japanese wrestling legends Sen. Hiroshi Hase and Antonio Inoki about the political situation. Both have immense sway inside the business and beyond, with Hase a member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet and Inoki a former representative of Japan's House of Councillors, as well as New Japan Pro-Wrestling's founder.
WWE recently targeted a Pro Wrestling NOAH as a potential partner for their Japanese expansion, though that company has now been sold to CyberAgent inc. A similar thing happened when they tried to acquire STARDOM, only with NJPW's parent company, Bushiroad, stepping in.
Whatever happens next, it's clear that some parts of the Japanese wrestling scene won't be as content to lie down for WWE as their British counterparts were. This is definitely a situation worth monitoring.