Rossy Ogawa has big plans following the termination of his STARDOM contract.
Laat night, Bushiroad and STARDOM announced that STARDOM founder and executive producer Rossy Ogawa has had his contract terminated with immediate effect, citing issues of poaching talent and staff as the reasoning behind the decision.
Ogawa has now commented on his STARDOM exit in an exclusive interview with Tokyo Sports, where he initially revealed his shock at the company’s decision being revealed to him after their 13th Anniversary Supreme Fight show earlier that day.
“It was a shock to my ears. Suddenly, after the match, I was told, ‘Your contract is terminated today.’ They put me in a cab and sent me on my way.”
-Rossy Ogawa
Regarding the irony of being let go by the company he founded at their anniversary show, Rossy stated that he leaves STARDOM with no regrets, although he was unable to hide his disbelief at how Bushiroad handled his contract termination.
“I have no regrets about this company. It’s just the way things are done. Why don’t you just talk about it properly, without saying it out of the blue? You could have said, ‘Please give me until February 5.’ And then all of a sudden, they cut my head off…”
-Rossy Ogawa
Ogawa additionally confirmed to Tokyo Sports that he had informed Bushiroad of his decision to leave STARDOM this spring last November, although it’s clear that his departure didn’t play out how he’d anticipated.
Rossy then alleged that there had been harassment behind the scenes, leading to his belief that he no longer wanted to work their, a belief that seemingly extends to talent as well.
“I was forced to play the aggressive card, and there was harassment within the company. It’s been going on, and I’m no longer willing to work here. That’s why some players and staff said, ‘Please do it (the organization) again,'”
-Rossy Ogawa
Following Ogawa’s departure, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer suggested that Rossy may be looking to start his a new promotion, and we now have confirmation that this is indeed the case.
Ogawa has now confirmed his intention to form a new promotion to Tokyo Sports, highlighting his desire to do things he no longer felt capable of doing in STARDOM.
“A new organization? Yes, that’s right. I want to do again what I can’t do here. There are quite a few things we can’t do here. We are a big company, so we can’t do everything,”
-Rossy Ogawa
As for the reasoning given for his dismissal, Ogawa strongly denied that he’d been poaching talent and staff for his new promotion, instead revealing that multiple talents had expressed their desire to follow him after hearing news of his impending exit.
“We didn’t do it from our side. There were a lot of players who heard rumours and wanted to come here (to the new organization). That’s why they must have panicked. However, President Taro Okada was ‘OK’ (with the new organization). He said, ‘We’ll make an offer to (Yokohama) BUNTAI,’ and ‘Let’s have a rivalry match two years from now on the 15th anniversary. I was like, “What are you talking about now? It’s like, ‘What are you talking about now?’“
-Rossy Ogawa
Finally, Ogawa claimed he isn’t looking to get into a “mud-slinging match” with Bushiroad and STARDOM, although with a new promotion’s formation seemingly on the horizon, the ripple effect of his departure appears far from over.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the future of Rossy Ogawa and the potential for a new Joshi promotion to be formed as soon as we hear more.
Translated using DeepL.
