NJPW Locker Room Reportedly Suffering From Low Morale Following Management Changes
The current state of New Japan Pro Wrestling has been a hot topic of discussion amongst pro wrestling as of late. On the last episode of Wrestling Observer Radio this morning, Dave Meltzer touched on the current backstage morale in NJPW.
According to Meltzer, "There is a lot of unrest, everyone is unhappy." Apparently much of the unrest comes from the fact that NJPW is under new management. Toy magnate Harold Meij was brought on as the new NJPW President this summer.
The new management, while excellent businessmen, do not appear to be wrestling people. Before Meij came in to power the feeling backstage was reportedly that NJPW was doing great. Their business was up, the roster was, "very prideful of their work," and they were making in-roads into the US market.
Meltzer went on to note that it's not just Meij, or new GM Michael Craven, that have rubbed the roster the wrong way. It's many members of the new management. He went so far as to say that, "A lot of people that you wouldn't even think about leaving are thinking about it. People who I knew who were considering absolutely staying are questioning that commitment."
It should be interested to see how things play out for NJPW over the next few months. Some top talents have contracts coming up and the new Firing Squad extension of Bullet Club has begun heavily recruiting.