Report: NJPW Securing Visas For Foreign Talent

For the first time since the dawn of the pandemic, New Japan Pro Wrestling is reportedly working on obtaining visas for outside talent to come to Japan, according to a new report from Fightful Select.

The report adds that several names will be brought over in the coming months, including for the Best of the Super Juniors tournament that will begin on May 14.

During the pandemic, New Japan has focused on building a roster stateside, while keeping their at-home roster mostly in tact, with a few exceptions. NJPW of America launched New Japan Strong in 2020, and established working agreements with Impact and AEW (allowing both NJPW talents to appear for those companies, and vice versa).

At-home stars such as Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, and Minoru Suzuki have all managed to work cards in the US during the pandemic.

Fightful's report adds that several notable outside names reportedly hoped to work in Japan during the pandemic, but were told no by NJPW, due to the company not bringing in as many outside talents in that period.