Bushiroad, the parent company of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, has reportedly purchased STARDOM.
According to a report from Yahoo Japan, Bushroad did purchase the company and it is expected to be officially announced on October 17 after approval from the board of directors. Stardom's official twitter account would go on to confirm the news.
Stardom has been acquired by Bushiroad. More details to come shortly! https://t.co/1IGN5tEMPZ
— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) October 17, 2019
The news is significant as this means both New Japan Pro-Wrestling and STARDOM will be under the same umbrella but there is still no word on whether or not this means NJPW will eventually integrate a women's division. STARDOM is not only one of the biggest all-female wrestling companies in Japan, but also in the world.
The report also stated that Bushiroad's interest in women's wrestling started around last fall. It was in February when Bushiroad would contact STARDOM's owner Rossy Ogawa. A meeting between Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani and Ogawa took place in April with the deal becoming complete in August. The report would also go on to note Kidani's interest in women's wrestling, mentioning WWE moving on from the term "Diva" in 2016 to describe its female talent and simply referring to them as "Superstars" just as they would for the men as an example.
STARDOM has had many top female talent wrestle for them throughout the years and some of them would go on to compete for WWE, such as Kairi Sane and Io Shirai. Other STARDOM talent such as Riho and Bea Priestley wrestle stateside for All Elite Wrestling.
