NJPW New Fan Guide and FAQ (September 2022)

u/EffingKENTA and I put together this guide to answer some of the more commonly asked questions around here and to provide new fans with all the information they need to know in one place. If anyone has any suggestions for improvements or additional topics, please let us know in the comments. Also, if the mod(s?) find this helpful, we ask that it be stickied for ease of access.

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**How do I watch NJPW?**

The primary way to watch is by subscribing to the company’s streaming service, [NJPW World](https://njpwworld.com/). For ¥999 a month (usually between $7-10 USD), you get access to 99% of the shows New Japan produces, both live and on demand, as well as to a large back catalog of content. The only shows not included in the subscription price are special PPVs hosted on World. These are generally shows from promotions NJPW is friendly with (GLEAT), produced by NJPW talent (TakaTaichiMania), and the PPVs for the company’s US division, New Japan of America. The latter most of these are typically broadcast by FITE TV.

Note that because of how Japanese companies run streaming services, you will be charged on the day you sign up and then on the first day of each month regardless of when you sign up. We highly recommend signing up as close to the beginning of the month as possible.

In addition to World, New Japan has a weekly show on AXS TV that airs at 10pm EST every Thursday. This show is an hour long and typically contains the top matches from the past several weeks prior to the airing date. There is also a show on the Roku Channel that primarily shows matches at least several months old.

**NJPW World’s quality is poor and it isn’t available on \[device\]. What gives?**

World’s video quality has been a constant source of criticism since its inception in December 2014. There are frequent reports of playback issues, especially when watching through the browser, and lag when watching archived content. And while there is a setting under each video for a high definition feed, it is only 720p at the *absolute* best.

As of September 2022, the only devices that you can watch World on besides a computer and smartphone (via browser, the only app available is for use with Chromecast) are the Fire TV Stick and Chromecast. There is no support for smart TVs, gaming consoles, etc. Chromecast is the best way to watch World on a TV because it’s inexpensive and works without issue for most people.

**Do I need to know Japanese to follow what’s going on?**

No. Nearly every show broadcast on World has English commentary, including every major show. If a show does not have English commentary during its live airing, it will generally be uploaded with it within a day or two of airing.

The main live English commentary team consists of Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton, although Charlton does not always appear due to his other duties with the company and outside work. There is also a third member of the team, Australian wrestler Gino Gambino, but he has not appeared since early 2020.

Charlton is fluent in Japanese, and when he is on commentary, he will do his best to translate any live promos. New Japan also uploads subtitled promos as part of their Backstage Comments videos, which are posted on [World](https://front.njpwworld.com/search/tag/other_26) as well as the NJPW World [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/c/NJPWWorldOfficial) page and [Twitter account](https://twitter.com/njpwworld)

**What’s New Japan’s schedule? Is there a weekly show?**

Like other Japanese promotions, NJPW events in Japan operate more like a sports league than American sports entertainment-style promotions. This means that there is no weekly show like WWE Raw or Smackdown but rather a “tour,” which is a series of events under the same name that build up to a bigger show roughly once a month.

The exact schedule for these tours changes from year-to-year, but typically the same events happen around the same time, such as the larger show Sakura Genesis in early April. There is one event with a semi-fixed date: Wrestle Kingdom, which is NJPW’s WrestleMania equivalent. The show traditionally takes place on January 4th, but from 2020-2022 it was expanded into multiple nights, with January 4th being the first of two or three.

The shows leading up to the bigger event are generally called “Road To” shows, and they will sometimes be officially named as such. These shows are mostly comprised of tag matches to develop and further feuds, with the occasional low-level title or singles match. New Japan also runs several yearly tournaments, like the New Japan Cup and G1 Climax, which span the length of an entire tour.

You can see the upcoming World schedule [here](https://njpwworld.com/feature/schedule?lang=ja), which shows every event to be broadcast on the service but generally only spans the current and next month. The live event schedule on NJPW’s English site is [here](https://www.njpw1972.com/schedule/), which not only includes every officially announced New Japan show but also lists house shows that will not be broadcast on World.

**What’s New Japan STRONG/New Japan of America (NJoA)?**

In mid 2020, NJPW announced that its US division, New Japan of America, would begin airing a one hour weekly show on World called New Japan STRONG. The division had previously run occasional US special events and tours as well as operating the company’s US Dojo in Los Angeles. The show is pre-taped in the U.S., and the storylines are generally separate from those in Japan, so you do not need to follow one to be able to keep up with the other.

STRONG currently premiers on Saturdays at 8pm EST. It follows a similar pattern of NJPW in Japan where each batch of tapings (which usually spans four weeks of shows) is its own “tour” with a special name. But instead of building to a larger event or PPV, the weekly shows are mostly self-contained. There are some ongoing feuds and storylines, but generally it’s more like an independent promotion where it’s matches for the sake of matches.

The regular STRONG roster consists of US-based contracted talent (e.g. Jay White, Fred Rosser, Tom Lawlor, JONAH, and the students of the LA Dojo), independent wrestlers (e.g. Alex Zayne, Mascara Dorada, and Blake Christian), and wrestlers from partner promotions (e.g. AEW’s Eddie Kingston, Christopher Daniels, and The Factory). They will also frequently have guests from the Japan roster like Minoru Suzuki, Tomohiro Ishii, and Hiroshi Tanahashi. The show has two of its own titles—the STRONG Openweight Championship and STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships.

As previously mentioned, New Japan of America also runs occasional PPVs, but they do not have the STRONG branding, and while they use much of the same talent as STRONG, they are generally more self-contained and even less storyline-based. Most of Jon Moxley’s appearances for NJPW are on these PPVs, and Will Ospreay also frequently appears. There is also usually a defense of NJPW’s United States Heavyweight title.

**Why are there so many tag matches?**

NJPW’s traditional booking philosophy is based around drawing fans to live events, which is their main source of revenue. To do that, they protect singles matches (or straight 2-on-2 tag matches for the tag division) and generally save them for bigger events.

This plays into the fact that NJPW is a faction-based promotion, with most of the talent belonging to a group that they regularly team with. Because the majority of NJPW matches have decisive finishes as opposed to DQs or count outs, this style allows the two wrestlers feuding to stay strong by not having to be pinned (or sometimes even wrestle each other at all) during the build to their singles match.

Because of this, most wrestlers have less than a dozen singles matches a year, and only the top guys exceed that number. This makes the singles matches they do have feel more important.

STRONG is slightly more Americanized and thus features singles matches far more frequently. They do somewhat protect matches between two NJPW contracted talents, so many singles matches are often between an NJPW contracted talent and an outside talent or NJPW trainee or two non-contracted talents and/or trainees.

**Why don’t the wrestlers cut promos? The shows are all just wrestling.**

As stated above, New Japan is presented as a legitimate sport, not sports entertainment. UFC fighters don’t cut promos right before a fight, nor does Harry Kane after the first half of a football match. While wrestlers sometimes cut promos after matches to advance a story or make an in-ring announcement, the majority of promos cut during the show are done by the winner of the main event to send the crowd home.

The other wrestlers do cut promos, but they’re in the form of Backstage Comments, which are similar to post-fight/game press conferences. These are a chance for wrestlers to express and build their character, and you should make a point to watch them when you are just starting out.

NJPW also frequently does separate Press Conferences to make announcements, as well as both in advance of and following major shows or tournaments.

The Backstage Comments and Press Conferences are posted with alternate-language subtitles (English when someone is speaking Japanese, and vice-versa) on [World](https://front.njpwworld.com/search/tag/other_26), as well as the NJPW World [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/c/NJPWWorldOfficial) page and [Twitter account](https://twitter.com/njpwworld). They’re usually uploaded within a day of the event airing.

**How do I learn more about the factions and wrestlers?**

You’ll learn a lot just by watching the product and the Backstage Comments. Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton do a great job talking about the motivations and history of the wrestlers, factions, and matchups during the shows. New Japan has also done some videos in English on their [YouTube channel](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8GWdQ90lNZffTLl4pLGsg-0yx9ybteOh) that, while now dated, provide some historical context on factions like CHAOS and Bullet Club as well as bits of NJPW [History](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8GWdQ90lNZeSYDCnR77IymSamFK0LxRw).

Of course, you can also always ask questions on this sub.

**Why doesn’t NJPW have a Women’s division? What’s the relationship between NJPW and STARDOM?**

The majority of Japanese promotions, especially the most prominent ones, are single gender. This is due to the difference in culture between Japan and western countries. While there are some promotions that have both a male and female roster, they are typically independent or smaller promotions like JTO or DDT.

NJPW has had a handful of women’s matches, mixed-gender team tag (as opposed to intergender matches where competitors can fight members of the other gender), and even intergender matches in the history of the company. But they were very few and far between and generally not well received.

This began changing in late 2019 when Bushiroad, the company that owns NJPW, purchased Japan’s top women’s promotion, STARDOM.

The first notable instance of crossover between the two was the inclusion of a STARDOM tag match as a dark match prior to the first night of NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 14 in 2020. The following year’s WK had two dark tag matches on the second night, and then on the second night in 2022, a STARDOM tag match was the second match on the main card.

In the summer of 2022, it was announced that there will now be more crossover between the two companies. This will include a collaborative show on November 20th, 2022 (which will feature some mixed-gender team tag matches), STARDOM and other independent female talent appearing on NJoA and international shows, and the creation of the IWGP Women’s Championship (which is an NJPW title).

That said, the two are still separate companies and will continue to predominantly operate as such. From what has been announced, it seems the IWGP Women’s title will mainly be defended on NJoA/international shows, the occasional large NJPW event in Japan, and maybe a rare STARDOM event. It is highly unlikely that the rosters will ever merge.

**Where can I buy NJPW merchandise?**

New Japan has both an online [Global Shop](https://shop.njpw1972.com/) and an online [Japanese Shop](https://shop.njpw.co.jp/). The Global Shop has a curated selection of print-on-demand merchandise, select imported items, and some exclusive print-on-demand items. The Japanese Shop has the full selection of merchandise, but they do not ship internationally, so you will need to use a forwarding service such as [Tenso](https://www.tenso.com/en). If you purchase from the Japanese shop, keep in mind that Japanese sizes run about one size smaller than U.S. ones, so check the sizing chart to determine which size is right for you.

The Japanese shop also occasionally runs special shopping events with exclusive items and autographed photos, called Toshopi events, which you can learn about [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/njpw/comments/wzy3hk/a_couple_of_months_back_njpw_had_a_livestream_on/im6a32e/).

There are also select items, mainly shirts, available on [PWTees](https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/promotion-tshirts/new-japan.html). The advantage to buying there is that you can choose which type of garment you would like the design on, including long sleeve shirts and tank tops. PWTees, in my (Megistrus) opinion, has some quality issues with their merchandise. They also do not come with the New Japan tag, so if you want a higher quality product and don’t mind paying more, then the Global Shop and Japanese shop are the ways to go.

by Megistrus