NJPW announces a TV partnership with Roku Channel in the US, UK and Canada
After weeks of speculation following Wrestle Kingdom 15, NJPW revealed today that they have made an agreement with The Roku Channel for a weekly one-hour TV program every Thursday at 5PM EST across America, Canada and the UK. This huge news comes off the heels of New Japan star KENTA of the Bullet Club appearing on AEW Dynamite last night.
This new deal for NJPW exposes the product to a lot of eyes that would not have otherwise known of the biggest promotion in Japan. The company has been on a steady United States expansion since 2017 with a training dojo built in Los Angeles, more U.S. shows, and the sub brand New Japan Pro Wrestling of America.
The Roku Channel is available on any Roku streaming player or Roku TV in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. One can also access the service via their web browser. This new television partnership has brought more buzz to NJPW at a point where it has building since the start of the year.
How does NJPW's new TV deal affect relationship with AEW?
The ending of the February 3 AEW Dynamite Beach Break episode will be spoken about a lot, depending on the aftermath.
This move with NJPW's KENTA appearing on All Elite Wrestling could be a short-term thing where talents appear on the opposing promotion's TV to help ratings and push their match. However, fans are hopeful for more.
The possibilities are endless for both promotions if a partnership has been finalized. NJPW mega shows could be more significant with the likes of Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley, or Chris Jericho being a part of them. They could also help the evolution of their New Japan dojo trainees with excursions to AEW.
On the other end, AEW has the potential to book matches on U.S. soil for the first time, such as Omega vs. Kota Ibushi in a battle of the Golden Lovers or Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada V in the next chapter of their revolutionary series.
Those would be hugely profitable matches for them as well as potential for dream bouts like Bullet Club vs. Bullet Club or Eddie Kingston vs. Minoru Suzuki.
With NJPW getting a TV deal and featuring on AEW Dynamite, it is a great time to be a fan of the promotion and maybe a great time for others to try the product out.