WWE/Netflix deal made New Japan’s previous owner decide to sell the company

(L-R) Guest, guest, Greg Peters, Co-CEO, Netflix, Bela Bajaria, CCO, Netflix, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, Mark Shapiro, Ari Zev Emanuel, Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO, Netflix and Gabe Spitzer, VP, Sports, Netflix attend Netflix's Debut of WWE Monday Night Raw at Intuit Dome on January 06, 2025 in Inglewood, California. | Photo by Roger Kisby/Getty Images for Netflix Back in May, New Japan surprised the pro wrestling world by announcing that all shares of the company held by its primary owner Bushiroad would be sold to New Japan’s television partner TV Asahi and CyberAgent, another Japanese Entertainment company that already owned several pro wrestling brands.Takaaki Kidani is Bushiroad’s founder, and was ultimately responsible for New Japan Pro-Wrestling for more than a decade after acquiring it from Yukes in 2012. He spoke to Japanese outlet Weekly Playboy about the sale, and says he began to realize NJPW couldn’t succeed they way he’d hoped when AEW launched: “Around 2019, I began to wond