New Japan Pro Wrestling is undergoing a major ownership change, with Bushiroad transferring all of its shares in the promotion to TV Asahi and CyberAgent.
Bushiroad, which oversaw NJPW during its 2010s resurgence and international expansion, announced the share transfer, making NJPW a consolidated subsidiary of TV Asahi with support from CyberAgent.
TV Asahi, NJPW’s longtime broadcast partner, already owned 22.7 percent of the promotion’s voting shares. Bushiroad previously held 70 percent ownership of NJPW. As part of the transfer, 3,550,200 shares went to TV Asahi, while 6,950,200 shares went to CyberAgent.
Following the move, TV Asahi and CyberAgent now each own 46.3 percent of NJPW. The share transfer is valued at approximately 3.6 billion yen, or roughly $22.6 million.
CyberAgent already has a major presence in Japanese professional wrestling through its subsidiary CyberFight, which owns Pro Wrestling NOAH, DDT Pro Wrestling and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. CyberAgent also operates the Abema streaming platform, which currently broadcasts WWE content in Japan, though WWE programming is set to move to Netflix in Japan before the end of 2026.
In a statement, NJPW said the move positions the company well moving forward, citing TV Asahi’s broadcasting and video business foundation, along with CyberAgent’s digital media operations.
“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,” NJPW said. “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.”
NJPW also noted that there are currently no planned changes to its event schedule. The future of NJPW World was not directly addressed, though TV Asahi has been involved with the streaming service since its launch and controls the NJPW video library.
One notable development from the ownership change is that NJPW and Stardom are no longer under the same corporate umbrella. Bushiroad still owns Stardom, with NJPW having transferred its ownership stake in the women’s promotion to Bushiroad back in March.
Stardom president Taro Okada, who also works for NJPW, stated on social media that the two promotions will continue to work together as fellow members of the Japanese wrestling community.
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Sources: NJPW1972.com, Bushiroad.com.jp