Update On NJPW & AAA American TV Deals
Today's Wrestling Observer Newsletter included updates on United States TV deals for two prominent international wrestling promotions — Japan's NJPW and Mexico's AAA. As of right now, according to Dave Meltzer, neither company has an agreement in place to air on TV in America.
In NJPW's case, the decision fell to them, as the company opted to let its deal with AXS TV expire at the end of 2024. AXS is owned by Anthem Entertainment, who also owns and operates TNA Wrestling. Though NJPW and TNA once had a working relationship in place, that connection has frayed with the departure of Scott D'Amore and TNA growing closer with WWE.
There are several possible reasons why NJPW let the contract end, with one company source telling Meltzer that they wanted to air on a larger network while another told the writer that the decision came down to "finances." It remains to be seen if NJPW intends to pursue another US TV deal or will simply rely on streaming going forward.
As for AAA, the promotion had an agreement in place to air on Unimas, a free TV network that is part of the Univision brand. That contract also expired at the end of the year, with Meltzer noting that AAA's programming never attracted much viewership on the network, partially because it aired in the afternoon.
According to Meltzer, AAA officials were hopeful that the show would catch on with audiences, propelling them to the actual Univision station in 2025, but that plan seems to have fallen through. Instead, the belief is that the show was viewed as "filler," was given no marketing push, and had frequent scheduling changes, leading to the recent decision to cancel the series.