As reported earlier, it was confirmed by New Japan Pro Wrestling that Harold Meji will be resigning from his position as President and CEO next month. Now it seems more details have been revealed regarding his decision.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed Harold Meji’s resignation. Meltzer revealed that Meji had a goal in mind, which was to get NJPW up to $100 million in revenue by the end of 2020. However, this would not be possible without a major American broadcast TV deal.
NJPW previously had a broadcast TV deal in the US with AXS TV, but due to Impact Wrestling parent company Anthem Entertainment buying AXS TV, promotions such as NJPW were no longer part of the network.
Meltzer added that due to the purchase, NJPW suffered greatly. They had already lost huge stars such as The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, which ultimately halted their momentum in the US. Despite a solid opening in 2020 due to Wrestle Kingdom, the company was badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unfortunately, Meji was nowhere near the revenue number he had seemingly promised.
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