Backstage Reactions To Harold Meij's NJPW Ousting

Last week, we saw a major shakeup within New Japan Pro Wrestling as President and CEO Harold Meij was ousted.

We've not yet heard a firm reason why Harold Meij resigned from New Japan Pro Wrestling, but we have heard from several wrestlers about how they feel about it. As reported on Fightful Select last week, those we spoke to didn't have a ton of confidence in Meij despite some improvements financially.

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One longtime New Japan Pro Wrestling star told us that they never quite fully bought in to the Harold Meij plan, and they were hopeful that he would be more proactive with relationships. Another said that they would have needed more time to see his vision fully executed because of the pandemic, but that they hadn't quite seen it unfold even in the months that preceded it after about two years in control.

As far as the question of an AEW relationship, most that we've spoken to within AEW want it to happen, and AEW has been very lenient in constructing contracts accordingly. NJPW wrestlers we talked to weren't thrilled with his reaction to losing so much talent to AEW.

This article first appeared on our premium service, Fightful Select. Subscribe to get exclusive wrestling news before anyone else. It aslo appeared in our Fightful Wrestling Weekly feature.

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