New Japan Pro Wrestling, also known as “Shin Nihon Puroresu” in Japanese, is the top pro wrestling promotion in Japan and has a working partnership with All Elite Wrestling. It was founded in 1972 by Hall of Fame legend Antonio Inoki and debuted on March 6, 1972. Inoki owned and ran the promotion until the promotion was sold to game developer Yuke’s, but still appeared occasionally as a guest until 2022 (Inoki died on September 30, 2022 at age 79). Since the late 2000s/early 2010s the promotion has been owned by Bushiroad Corporation, a creator/publisher of numerous popular trading card games in Japan. Bushiroad also is the owner of women’s promotion Stardom, which leads to their talent occasionally appearing in New Japan.
The promotion is also known for its signature WrestleMania-style event, perhaps the biggest non-WrestleMania annual event in pro wrestling, held every year on January 4.
In 2020 NJPW began an unofficial working relationship with AEW that has since become official, spearheaded in large part by AEW roster members Jon Moxley & Lance Archer also being part of the NJPW roster, although the coronavirus pandemic kept them from appearing in Japan. During this time NJPW also launched a new TV show, NJPW STRONG, filmed primarily at the promotion’s LA Dojo in Los Angeles, CA. NJPW talent make occasional appearances in AEW and some AEW talent have appeared at US New Japan events produced by US subsidiary New Japan Of America (NJoA). Beginning in mid-2022, AEW weekly programming will also be available on New Japan World, the promotion’s online streaming video service that is available worldwide. New Japan World offers almost all events televised in Japan live and on demand as well as a variety of other programming.
New Japan has it’s own championship sanctioning body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP), therefore almost all the promotion’s titles are referred to as IWGP Championships. The promotion currently has 11 titles: IWGP World Heavyweight, IWGP US Heavyweight, IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team, NEVER Openweight, NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team, STRONG Openweight, STRONG Tag Team, IWGP Women’s, STRONG Women’s. A new title, IWGP Global, will replace the US Heavyweight Championship in January 2024.
How to watch New Japan Pro Wrestling:
In Japan: TV Asahi (98% of broadcast events), Samurai! TV (average 1-2 events per month), ABEMA (online streaming platform, average 1 event per month. Also carries other pro wrestling events)
In the US and worldwide: New Japan World broadcasts all televised events live (with a few exceptions) and on demand. Non-televised events are not available. Available for the equivalent of 1299 Japanese yen per month, as of December 2023 that averages $8.85 US per month if subscribed before November 2023, or $9.99 month if not ($12.99/month if subscribed through app stores). Subscriptions are billed monthly and renew on the first of the month Japan time. Also available on AXS TV (Thursday nights at 10 PM ET) and on The Roku Channel (free online service, also included with Roku devices, new content is added every Thursday at 5 PM local time) and The Fight Network in Canada. Some content is also available on FITE, a streaming platform offering a variety of combat sports programming as a subscription and/or PPV basis. FITE offers replays of select events and NJPW STRONG.
YouTube-New Japan has Japanese and English language YouTube channels with a variety of FREE content including promos, press conferences, commercials for upcoming events in Japan and also Free Match Mondays, where a classic match (usually with connections to an upcoming match/event) is uploaded every Monday morning. Classic episodes of NJPW STRONG are also added every Thursday night.
Current roster (as of April 2023):
Alex Coughlin
Aaron Henare
Tomohiro Ishii
Taiji Ishimori
EVIL
Will Ospreay
Yuya Uemura
Shota Umino
El Desperado
El Phantasmo
Ryohei Oiwa (currently in Pro Wrestling NOAH)
Kazuchika Okada
Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Clark Connors
Great-O-Khan
Kevin Knight
KENTA
Gabriel Kidd
Gedo
Satoshi Kojima
Hirooki Goto
SANADA
Zack Sabre Jr.
The DKC
Katsuyori Shibata
Sho
Jeff Cobb
Jado
Juice Robinson
Jon Moxley
Minoru Suzuki
Tiger Mask 4
Taichi
Shingo Takagi
Hiromu Takahashi
Yujiro Takahashi
TAKA Michinoku
Ryusuke Taguchi
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Tama Tonga
Tanga Loa
Chase Owens
Yota Tsuji
TJP
Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Dick Togo
David Finlay
Tom Lawlor
DOUKI
Tetsuya Naito
Yuto Nakashima
Yuji Nagata
Ren Narita
Bad Luck Fale
Hikuleo
Kosei Fujita
Fred Rosser
BUSHI
Tomoaki Honma
Togi Makabe
Master Wato
Toru Yano
Yoh
YOSHI-HASHI
Rocky Romero
Robbie Eagles
KUSHIDA
Oskar Leube
Boltin Oleg
Shoma Kato
Katsuya Murashima
Titles & History:
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
IWGP Heavyweight Championship (no longer active)
IWGP Intercontinental Championship (no longer active)
IWGP US Heavyweight Championship (no longer active)
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
NEVER Openweight Championship
NEVER 6 Man Tag Team Championship
STRONG Openweight Championship
STRONG Tag Team Championship
IWGP Women’s Championship
NJPW World TV Championship
STRONG Women’s Championship
IWGP Global Championship
Official websites:
http://www.njpw.co.jp (Japanese)
http://www.njpw1972.com (English)
