IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho believes that while New Japan won’t ever top WWE, they are certainly putting the pressure of competition on the wrestling giant.
“[New Japan] is a company that’s slowly but surely increasing its worldwide popularity and basically breathing down the neck of the WWE” Jericho said, in an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press’ Taylor Allen.
“It’s a Japanese wrestling company, the top stars are Japanese, but there we were, two foreigners, headlining and main eventing the Tokyo Dome. It would be like two Japanese football teams in the Super Bowl. The fact it’s two guys from Winnipeg is a really huge deal.”
Jericho believes that what makes New Japan so successful is that they present something different than what fans see in WWE programming.
“Obviously, you’ll never beat WWE, but to carve out a niche for yourself within the market, you have to do something different, and New Japan is a completely different animal. Yes, it’s still pro wrestling, but it’s a completely different style and much more reformed, more hard-hitting and, in a lot of ways, more fun, depending on what you’re looking for.”
