Eric Bischoff was asked if he could see WWE co-hosting events with NJPW in the future on a recent episode of his Strictly Business podcast.
AEW and NJPW just hosted their Forbidden Door pay-per-view event last Sunday. Bischoff doesn’t think so because there’s no benefit to WWE.Â
“No,” Bischoff responded emphatically. “Because they don’t need it. What benefit would that provide to WWE? For the same reason that the numbers [AEW viewership figures] reflect a lack of interest among the hardest of hardcore wrestling fans that pretty much makes up the AEW Dynamite audience. If they’re not interested, why would WWE be interested in bringing in New Japan talent and integrating them into their show, knowing the audience just doesn’t care.”
Bischoff noted that there’s also no upside for WWE to license merchandise for NJPW stars. He was then asked about WWE’s past rumored plans of doing NXT Japan and if WWE doing this in Japan would lead to a working relationship with NJPW.Â
“Nope. Why would New Japan do that?” Bischoff asked. “If WWE has its sights set on Japan and wants to create its own promotion, why would New Japan want to help them with that? In essence, WWE would be breaking into a closed market. Why would New Japan help them do that? I wouldn’t.”
(H/T to Wrestling Inc)
