Tag: Takami Ohbari

Kazuchika Okada wanted Takami Ohbari out as NJPW president

Posted on by Ian Carey

Kazuchika Okada wanted Takami Ohbari out of NJPW. 

Ohbari stepped down from his role as NJPW president last week following a shareholder and Board of Directors meeting on December 23. Hiroshi Tanahashi was announced as his replacement.

Our own Dave Meltzer covered NJPW’s front office changes in today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Meltzer writes that NJPW losing many of its top stars to other companies, and failing to sell out the G1 finals this summer played a role in the change but Ohbari’s relationship with staff and talent was also a factor. 

Meltzer writes: 

Another key reason has been that there were issues with staff members and Ohbari’s usage of power over them. Another major reason was that Ohbari had heat with a number of people, including the company’s top star, Kazuchika Okada. Okada was said to have wanted him out. Others said that Ohbari never really understood the wrestling business and didn’t respect the value of Okada. One person said that Ohbari saw Okada as the lead role actor in a touring show.

The change in management comes just weeks after Sports Illustrated reported that Okada was “seriously entertaining” signing with a company other than NJPW. 

Meltzer’s coverage of New Japan’s management changes also includes comments from former NJPW staff. 

One former staffer wrote of Tanahashi replacing Ohbari:

Depending on how successful Tanahashi as president will be, it could be one of the best business decisions made by Bushiroad about NJPW.

Since 2013, all presidents were Bushiroad people (Kaname Tezuka and Katsuhiko Harada), or people chosen by Bushiroad (Harold Meij and Ohbari). It was the way Bushiroad controlled NJPW, but they were all people with either a little or zero experience in the industry so (they) couldn’t be popular enough among the NJPW talents and employees. While it was one of the reasons why all of them didn’t last long, Tanahashi has no such issues and should be meant for a long-term as president that would give NJPW stable leadership.

Though the power structure will remain the same (Bushiroad will always remain the highest decision maker), Tanahashi’s regime should influence their power balance for the better for NJPW.

Another former NJPW staffer offered the following:

I think it’s great. He’s going to be a guy who changes how you do business

I know he sees NJPW as being the WWE of Japan and he is young enough to enact changes and get New Japan out of the dark ages of how they do business.

Subscribers can click here to read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Outgoing NJPW President says Hiroshi Tanahashi will ‘create the best NJPW ever’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Outgoing NJPW President Takami Ohbari has posted a statement addressing his departure from the promotion.

On Friday night, NJPW shared the surprising announcement that Hiroshi Tanahashi has been named the promotion’s new president and representative director. Ohbari stepped down from the roles effective December 23.

Tanahashi, one of NJPW’s greatest wrestlers of all time, is an eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. He currently holds the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles with Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii.

A press conference to address NJPW’s management changes will be held on December 26. Hitoshi Matsumoto (Chief of Business Production, TV Asahi) and Taro Okada (President & CEO, Bushiroad Fight) have been named directors of NJPW. It was noted that Taro Okada’s position is a part-time one. Taro Okada is Stardom’s president and representative director.

Michiaki Nishizawa has resigned from his director position.

Ohbari made a social media post on Saturday following his resignation. Ohbari said there’s no doubt that, as president, Tanahashi will create the best NJPW ever.

Ohbari will be at the December 26 press conference to thank everyone. His full statement can be read below:

For our international fans,

Today, I resigned from the roles as president of NJPW and NJPW of America, and, as you know, our ‘ACE’ Tanahashi-san just took over my roles.

As he has fan’s, wrestler’s, and management perspectives, there is no doubt that he will create the best NJPW ever.

I spent five years with NJPW, and as its president 3 years and two months. My management started from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, when cheering, the number of attendance, and many other key factors for both fans’ and wrestlers’ motivation were strictly restricted by the government. People out of Japan might not be able to imagine how despairing environment it was.

As our traditional business model collapsed quickly, I focused on prevention of COVID-19 and cost reductions first. To adapt to this changing external environment, I put all my efforts to modify the old system, to create new businesses, and to accelerate the globalization. Honestly, most of the time I had felt ‘pains of birth’.

However, whenever I went to the venues in Japan and overseas, I always received huge encouragement from our fans like you and wrestlers, which motivated me to do my best again. Through this cycle, which might be called ‘STRONG STYLE’, we managed to recover our business to the level that almost hits the record high.

All the new president, Tanahashi-san, to do is to easily surpass the record and make a much brighter future of NJPW. I know everything is prepared.

Although I left NJPW and will leave Bushiroad quite soon, I would like to once again thank everyone at the press conference on December 26.

See you then!

NJPW Strong announcement coming ‘within a few days’

Posted on by Ian Carey

The President of New Japan Pro Wrestling says an announcement regarding the future of NJPW Strong is coming soon. 

Takami Ohbari revealed earlier this month that the weekly show on NJPW World will be “rebuilt” in 2023. He then announced Saturday evening that there will be an update on Strong coming “within a few days.” 

Ohbari wrote:

Thank you for watching and supporting NJPW STRONG over the years. It has adapted to environmental changes since its inception and will soon be reborn in a new form.

We’ll make an announcement regarding #njpwSTRONG within a few days.

Previously, Ohbari stated that the future of NJPW Strong would put focus on “quantity over quality.” He wrote, “We started it when the strict lockdown was forced, so we focused obviously on ‘continuity’. Fortunately, fan and we are about to overcome the pandemic. We should now focus on ‘quality’ rather than quantity.”

The fourth episode from the NJPW Nemesis tapings held in December aired on last night’s show. The promotion doesn’t host another event in the United States until next month’s Battle in the Valley on February 18, 2023, from San Jose. 

NJPW president responds to Karl Anderson being ‘double booked’ on November 5

Posted on by Ian Carey

NJPW president Takami Ohbari says they are doing everything they can to ensure all matches listed for November 5 in Osaka take place as advertised. 

NEVER Openweight Champion Karl Anderson was scheduled to defend his title against Hikuleo on the show. Anderson was later announced for a match at WWE Crown Jewel on the same date, however. 

The Good Brothers released a video last week claiming that NJPW never confirmed the November 5 date with them and said Anderson will not be defending his title at the Battle Autumn event. 

Ohbari took to social media on Saturday to say they are working to ensure the match takes place, and that they expect all wrestlers to “honor their advertised commitments.” 

“We are doing all we can to ensure every signed match in Osaka on November 5 happens as promised. We expect all wrestlers, especially champions, to honor their advertised commitments,” the NJPW president wrote on Twitter. 

Ohbari also told Tokyo Sports in an interview last week that he is “angry” about the situation involving Anderson and the NEVER Openweight Championship. 

Hikuleo directed his post-match comments on Saturday toward Anderson and the situation involving the NEVER Openweight Championship. 

“You think you forgot about me? I’ve got a lot on my plate right now, but I can make time for you. What are you scared of, Karl Anderson? The second non-Japanese person to make the finals of the G1, scared of someone who’s just coming back from a learning excursion? The former multi-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, scared of someone who’s only had two title matches?”

“Listen, you want to call yourself ‘bright lights’? Don’t forget who turned on those lights for you- New Japan did. And now you want to say those lights are brighter? You want to say your lights are brighter. Well, don’t turn your back on us. Don’t forget where you came from,” Hikuleo said to Anderson. 

“Karl, you want to hide from me? I’ll find you, and when I do- I’ll knock all your lights out.”

WWE is advertising a match featuring Anderson, Luke Gallows, and AJ Styles against Judgment Day’s Finn Balor, Damian Priest, and Dominik Mysterio for Crown Jewel. 

NJPW president addresses potential ‘Forbidden Door’ follow-up event in Japan

Posted on by Ian Carey

NJPW president Takami Ohbari has expressed interest in potentially bringing a Forbidden Door follow-up event to Japan. 

Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Ohbari stated that a show featuring AEW and NJPW wrestlers hosted in Japan could be the “next step” following the June 26 pay-per-view from Chicago. 

“If Japanese fans are invested in this event and the demand is there, then there will absolutely be the impetus for us to take the next step of holding an event in Japan,” he said. 

Ohbari wouldn’t speculate on what comes next for the relationship between his company and AEW after Forbidden Door, however. 

“NJPW and AEW will open the ‘Forbidden Door’ together this June, but what lies on the other side is something we will all have to wait to find out,” Ohbari continued. “One guarantee: I always say that NJPW’s wrestlers carry the pride and the fight of wild lions. Whomever they fight against, or whomever they even team with, they will carry a fighting spirit that is unmatched and unbeatable.”