New Japan Pro-Wrestling changes ownership

New Japan Pro-Wrestling changed ownership overnight, with Bushiroad, its previous owner, exiting and selling its shares to TV Ashai and CyberAgent.

TV Ashai, which has the rights for NJPW programming in the country, already owned almost 23% of the company and received a additional 3,550,200 shares for a total of 46.3% stake in the company. TV Ashai also has rights to the whole NJPW video library.

CyberAgent, which owns Pro Wrestling NOAH, Tokyo Joshi Pro, and DDT Pro Wrestling in Japan, received 6,950,200 shares for an equal 46.3% ownership of New Japan. The company also owns and operates Abema, the streaming service which currently has the rights to WWE programming in Japan.

WWE is moving to Netflix in Japan later this year.

Bushiroad still owns Stardom, which was previously owned by New Japan Pro-Wrestling but a transaction earlier this year moved the promotion to Bushiroad. Bushiroad has owned NJPW since 2012.

In a statement, NJPW said, “Currently, we have no plans to make any changes to our various business operations, including the events we organize, as a result of this Share Transfer. We would like to express our gratitude to Bushiroad, which has supported our business for many years as our largest shareholder, and we look forward to working together with TV Asahi and CyberAgent to further expand our business.”