Stardom to become a fully-owned subsidiary of New Japan

New Japan Pro-Wrestling and the Japanese women’s wrestling (aka joshi) promotion Stardom have been linked since NJPW’s parent company Bushiroad purchased Stardom in 2019.

Operating under the same corporate umbrella has led to a fair amount of crossover, including women’s matches at New Japan shows and the creation of the IWGP Women’s and NJPW Strong Women’s championships. Those are noteworthy as New Japan famously only featured men’s wrestling prior to Bushiroad’s acquisition of Stardom.

But there’s more work to be done, and apparently there hasn’t been a ton of collaboration between the two brands behind the scenes. That’s the main reason being given for the announcement today (April 23) that New Japan will be fully acquiring Bushiroad Fight, the company name Stardom has been operating under. It will be renamed, and become a fully-owned subsidiary of NJPW.

From New Japan’s website:

At a meeting of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s board of directors April 22, it was determined that NJPW will fully acquire all stakes in Bushiroad Fight Co. Ltd. (henceforth ‘Bushiroad Fight,’ due to rename itself STARDOM Co. Ltd. from June 28) from parent company Bushiroad Inc. With this acquisition, Bushiroad Fight will become a fully owned subsidiary of New Japan Pro-Wrestling effective June 28.

Their story also includes this quote from New Japan President & CEO Hiroshi Tanahashi:

Our fans have seen a lot of crossover between NJPW and STARDOM with our co-promoted event, as well as the IWGP and STRONG Women’s titles, but there is still a lot that can be done to strengthen connections between our companies behind the scenes. From arranging event schedules and building reservations to make sure fans have time to take in big matches from both companies, to improving our promotional efforts and sponsor acquisition, I’m excited at the opportunity to further both NJPW and STARDOM’s appeal to a broader audience. This acquisition will speed up decision making processes and improve our operating efficiency, freeing both companies up to further professional wrestling in the eyes and hearts of fans in Japan and worldwide. I look forward to fans’ continued support of both NJPW and STARDOM.

Women’s wrestling has become an increasingly bigger part of New Japan’s United States cards, and Stardom talent has started showing up on AEW shows just like NJPW stars have over the years. We’ll see where this move leads later this year.