Wrestling start-up AEW tags up with New Japan in challenge to WWE behemoth
12/06/2023 01:00
By Rocky Swift
TOKYO, June 12 (Reuters) - U.S. grappling start-up All
Elite Wrestling (AEW) may need its Japanese partner to help fill
London's 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium for a show in August, its
billionaire founder said, looking to wrest market share from its
newly beefed-up rival.
The Wembley show is on pace to be one of the biggest
wrestling shows ever and the largest not staged by the World
Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) WWE.N , which recently agreed to
merge with the operator of mixed martial arts franchise UFC into
a $21 billion entertainment giant.
AEW founder Tony Khan said 65,000 tickets have already been
sold for the Wembley show, and "it would be a huge benefit to
AEW if there is participation from New Japan Pro Wrestling and
some of their top stars in the event."
"In a world where the proposed merger happens, as it is
suggested on paper, then I would believe the AEW, New Japan Pro
Wrestling partnership is more imperative than ever before," Khan
told Reuters in a video interview from Jacksonville, Florida.
The scripted and often ridiculous spectacle of pro wrestling
is a serious player in the entertainment sector. WWE pulls in
about $1.3 billion in annual sales, while its TV programs and
those of AEW score near the top in weekly cable ratings,
according to Brandon Thurston, principle of industry watcher
Wrestlenomics.
The AEW and New Japan co-branding will be put to the test
later this month at a joint production in Toronto known as
Forbidden Door.
For New Japan, founded by grappler turned politician Antonio
Inoki in 1972, the partnership is a chance to restart a global
push cut short by the pandemic.
The company set up a U.S. subsidiary in 2019 and sold out a
show in New York's Madison Square Garden until the coronavirus
caused borders to slam shut and made live events impossible.
To stay afloat, New Japan focused on its streaming service
and boosted output of trading cards and games with its corporate
parent Bushiroad 7803.T .
New Japan said its ratio of overseas revenue doubled to 14%
over the course of the pandemic, and it expects that to double
again in the next three years as it ramps up live shows and
merchandising in the U.S., Britain and other foreign markets.
New Japan President Takami Ohbari said teaming with AEW
would give the companies more of a fighting chance against a
merged WWE and UFC operator Endeavor Group EDR.N .
"It's really mutually beneficial in terms of the global
expansion for New Japan and also for AEW," Ohbari said.
New Japan would consider sending talent for the Wembley show
if they get an offer, he said.
(Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Sonali
Paul)
((mailto:rocky.swift@thomsonreuters.com))