Takagi looks back on CyberAgent acquiring DDT Pro Wrestling.
Back in September 2017, it was announced by Sanshiro Takagi that DDT Pro Wrestling was sold to CyberAgent and the promotion would be moving under their umbrella. Present day, Takagi is the President of CyberFight, a division of CyberAgent which hosts DDT, Pro Wrestling NOAH, Tokyo Joshi Pro and Ganbare Pro Wrestling.
Takagi is a co-founder of DDT and he sat down with the ‘fumufumu news’ outlet for an in-depth interview about getting involved in pro wrestling and his current role in the business. Although CyberAgent acquired DDT, Takagi remained in his position.
He explained that at the time, one of his goals was to best New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He felt he needed the financial backing and that it would be difficult to run large-scale events if he remained the sole owner of the organization.
On March 20, 2017, we held our 20th anniversary event at Saitama Super Arena. It was packed but not to capacity. That’s when I felt I had reached my limits. [What I mean by ‘limits’ is] if we continue like this, we will never be able to beat New Japan Pro-Wrestling… Winning against New Japan was one of my goals, and I felt that it would be meaningless if I did not become the best. But I felt that in order to do a large-scale show like New Japan’s, I was limited in the last move. When I thought that I also needed capital, it would be difficult if I remained the owner. The only way was to join a group of listed companies and start as a wrestling division. That’s how I felt.
ABEMA TV is owned by CyberAgent and Takagi wanted to bring DDT over because of the momentum that the company had. He knew CyberAgent was a place he wanted to invest in when he had the opportunity to meet and converse with company President Susumu Fujita.
I thought it would be meaningless unless it was a company that owned media. In that respect, ABEMA, which is run by CyberAgent, had a lot of momentum. There was a time when I was allowed to participate in a program featuring the president of ABEMA. When I did so, a limousine picked me up at my office.
No [I never received that type of treatment before]. He [Susumu Fujita] could have said, ‘Please come directly to the site,’ instead of getting a car to pick me up (laughs). That is what surprised me the most. I asked, ‘Why did you have to get a car?’ I asked him, and he said, ‘It is my idea to pay respect to the president.’ And the grade of the lunches that day were amazing! I was very impressed with the media’s willingness to spend money in places where it is not visible. That’s what made me think CyberAgent is the only company for me. When I had a chance to meet President Fujita through my personal connections, I made a direct appeal to him myself. I had him watch a video of [DDT] street wrestling on my phone. He said, ‘That’s interesting.’
This July, DDT Pro is going hold an event on the 7th of that month and verbal crowd noise will be allowed. The show is going to be free to enter and to read more on this, click here.
