AEW: Major New Japan Change Could Be Great News for Ring of Honor

By Connor Casey

When AEW President Tony Khan confirmed Ring of Honor would have weekly programming featured on the HonorClub streaming service in 2023, he heavily implied New Japan Pro-Wrestling would play some sort of significant role in ROH's future and that more would be revealed after Wrestle Kingdom 17. He then told TVInsider last month, "Ring of Honor and New Japan had a great working relationship we are rekindling. We are looking to rekindle that long relationship. Ring of Honor may be in the strongest position they've ever been in its 20 years. It's the perfect time to take the training wheels off."

It now appears that changes are on the way. NJPW President Takami Ohbari announced via Twitter on Christmas Eve that the US-based arm of the promotion, NJPW Strong, would be "rebuilt" in 2023. Hiroshi Tanahashi then confirmed in a blog post this week that Strong would be ending following the latest taping. He wrote (translated from Japanese via Google), "#NJPWSTRONG, which has been going on for over two years, will come to an end with this recording. It seems that overseas tournaments will be announced in a different form in the future. Members of New Japan Pro-Wrestling World and strong viewers..."

Ohbari posted another update on Sunday, writing in Japanese, "We started with no spectators in order to 'continuously provide matches' in the strict lockdown of the US and the 'depletion of professional wrestling' worldwide. Japan's box office numbers are recovering. The US has carefully nurtured STRONG as a source of fire, and now it has become a regular show with 2,000 to 3,000 people. Based on the significantly changed internal and external environment.  We will rebuild to 'quality over quantity.' He then pivoted to English by writing, "#njpwSTRONG will be rebuilt to adapt external and internal environment. We started it when the strict lockdown was forced, so we focused obviously on 'continuity.' Fortunately, fan and we are about to overcome the pandemic. We should now focus on "quality" rather than quantity."

Between the multiple crossovers at Wrestle Kingdom, multiple statements from Khan about a second Forbidden Door crossover show and the Mercedes Mone rumors, it appears the relationship between AEW and New Japan is now stronger than ever. But will NJPW Strong's "rebuild" wind up on HonorClub? Could ROH's weekly show and Strong merge to create an even stronger roster? Tell us your predictions in the comments! 

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