NJPW Announces Kevin Kelly's Replacement As Lead English Broadcast Commentator
While Kevin Kelly has continued to call events for New Japan Pro Wrestling, including all of the G1 Climax this past summer, his long-time tenure with the Japanese promotion seemed to have an expiration date after it was announced he would be joining AEW as a commentator for "AEW Collision." That news has subsequently been confirmed today, by none other than the man who will be replacing him.
Taking to X in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Walker Stewart announced that he had reached an agreement with NJPW to become the promotion's lead English broadcaster going forward. Stewart posted a statement to go along with the announcement, where he thanked Kelly for his support, and Kelly himself reposted Stewart's post later in the day.
It's official, and here's my statement.
I'm excited to connect further with NJPW fanatics across the world as we dive deeper into our loves for professional wrestling.
See you soon @njpwglobal 👋
Signed ✍️
-WS#grateful #njpw #njpwworld #njfsu #njdest pic.twitter.com/Oh1RHBX5A7
— Walker Stewart (@VelvetVoiceWS) October 4, 2023
A relative unknown in professional wrestling, Stewart began working in the wrestling industry back in July 2021. In his statement, he revealed he will call his first New Japan event on October 28, when the promotion runs NJPW: Fighting Spirit Unleashed in Las Vegas, Nevada.
According to Stewart's statement, he will become the youngest broadcaster ever signed to an international wrestling promotion, at only 21 years old.
While Stewart is set to be NJPW's lead announcer of the future, Kelly's time in NJPW hasn't ended just yet. The "Collision" announcer has stated he plans on calling three more NJPW events before leaving the promotion for good. The first will occur on October 9, when NJPW hosts Destruction in Ryogoku, while his final planned shows for NJPW are Wrestle Kingdom 18 on January 4, and New Year's Dash the following night.