New Japan Pro-Wrestling will address their future in an online press conference next week.
The promotion announced on their social media accounts that they will host a media conference regarding their future on Tuesday, June 9 at noon JST (11 p.m. EST). It’s unknown what exactly the full announcement will entail, but it’s expected to include more details about protocols when New Japan resumes running live events.
The press conference will be available to watch for free on NJPW World and YouTube.
NJPW President Harold Meij had previously said the company would not run any live events until the state of emergency was lifted in Japan; that order was finally lifted on May 25. Bushiroad, NJPW and Stardom’s parent company, also announced that both rosters will undergo COVID-19 antibody testing. The promotion has not hosted any live events since February 26.
On a related note, Tama Tonga and his “Tama’s Island” co-host Ross Berman recently spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard and talked about the creation of the podcast as well as New Japan’s current state. It was noted that New Japan Pro-Wrestling, NWA and Ring Of Honor are just a few of the promotions that shut down during the pandemic and should be applauded without it counting against the companies that are still active. Tama says he can relate it to his time in the military and just said it’s all about adapting to the current situation and creating a bridge for fans until they can return to work.
It’s a glass-half-full situation Tama says he’s having a blast and brainstorming and collaborating on ideas. Tama joked that’s he’s taking all of those ideas from the Tama’s Island Happy Hour sessions, but he’s ready to get out of the house and back to work. When asked if he has an update on when or how New Japan Pro-Wrestling will open back up, Tama said the current plan is to operate at 25 percent capacity with fans and grow from there as long as things go according to plan.
When asked if he thinks the crowd sizes could change the energy at events, Tama said he really doesn’t know but he is very eager to get back to work.
“I don’t know. I can take a guess. I’m just so eager to get back in that fuckin’ ring,” Tama said, “I’m ready to get back into work and bust some heads and that’s really it. I hope that our energy shows and it can really pull in the people again. We’re at ground level again. I’ve been there at ground level with New Japan in 2009, 2010. We’ve been at ground level. We can do this again, that’s no problem.”
Related: Tama Tonga On Adapting To Quarantine, Says New Japan Will Make Another Comeback Once They Return
