New Japan President Hits Back At Fan Critics

New Japan Pro Wrestling President Harold Meij has hit back at fans and critics who are suggesting the creation of AEW could spell doom for his promotion.

In a blog post (translated by NJPW encyclopedia Chris Carlton), Meij supports the creation of new promotions, and hits back at criticism of their international expansion.

Meij himself has received criticism for fans who have suggested he doesn’t understand the culture of NJPW as a foreigner.

You can read the whole blog post below:

“‘Is New Japan OK?’ Yes it is.

‘Is this the beginning of the end?’ Twitter’s getting ahead of itself.

More promotions in the market is proof of a healthy sector with more people watching. A billion dollar market is turning into $1.3, 1.5 billion. It’s not a tiny space with everyone fighting over scraps anymore. I used to be in charge of a $1.8 billion business. Not the entire industry, a company worth that much. And forgive me for saying, I did pretty well. And New Japan has a great structure, our people have a lot of skill and know how, and our wrestlers are great.

Talent will come and go. That’s life. Half of Japanese people have had more than one occupation. More overseas. There are different life stages, priorities change. What counts is that while here, people shine as bright as possible and produce the best product possible for us. Our job as a business in New Japan is to make sure our wrestlers are not spending their life worrying about ticket sales, living expense, feeding their family, or injury. They need to be able to focus on the ring.

I often see talk along the lines of ‘since Meij came in, they’re only looking at international, they don’t care about Japan.’ That couldn’t be more wrong. New Japan has gotten to the stage that the world has taken notice of it and we can do these things abroad. I’m not pushing the company international; if anything it’s the other way round. I’m doing my job as a professional to fulfill very strong demand.

I didn’t get this job because I’m foreign. International business is one string to my bow. There’s a lot more I can do, and a lot more I have to do in Japan. I have done, and am doing a lot, more than you can see, to increase revenue. This is a Japanese company. I want to bring that Japanese excellence, that New Japan ism, as is, unchanged, to fans in Japan and all over the world.

For now, don’t worry. Enjoy the ride. Enjoy Fantasticamania.”