Hiroshi Tanahashi has hinted that the NJPW STRONG brand is about to be revamped.
Writing on his ‘High Fly’ blog on Friday, Tanahashi commented: “#NJPWSTRONG, which has been going on for more than 2 years, will end with this recording. It seems that the overseas tournament will be told in a different way in the future.”
Tanahashi’s blog comments have been machine-translated from Japanese, which can lead to imprecise results. There is no indication that NJPW wishes to end the production of a US-based product.
However, the comments follow a Christmas Day tweet from New Japan Pro Wrestling President Takami Ohbari, stating that the STRONG brand would be “rebuilt” in 2023.
解説において、STRONGの今後について、お話させて頂きました。#njpwSTRONG will be rebuilt next year.
— 大張高己/Takami Ohbari (@TAKAMIOHBARI) December 25, 2022
Tony Khan spoke about forging greater ties with NJPW during the media scrum after ROH Final Battle on December 10th, 2022, leading to an expectation of greater interaction between Ring of Honor and US-based New Japan talent.
New Japan is set to run its Battle in the Valley PPV event on February 18th in San Jose, California, headlined by KAIRI defending her IWGP Women’s Championship against Mercedes Moné.
