An exodus is on the horizon in STARDOM.
Last night saw Bushiroad and STARDOM announce the shocking news that STARDOM founder and executive producer Rossy Ogawa has had his contract terminated, alleging that Ogawa had been poaching talent and staff.
STARDOM President Taro Okada has now addressed the situation in an exclusive interview with Tokyo Sports, where he claimed that Ogawa had continuously attempted to poach talent and staff despite being warned against this.
“Around December, I began to hear information that Ogawa-san was pulling out of the company. We had always verbally told him, ‘If he is doing that kind of thing (pulling out), please stop,’ and ‘We would like to continue working together,’ but we were able to confirm that he has continued to do so since then, so we have taken this action,”
-Taro Okada
Tokyo Sports then noted that Ogawa had long expressed his desire to leave the company, and despite attempts to persuade him, he was adamant about his decision. The company had initially assumed that Ogawa would depart in March, with this news leading to many subsequent inquiries from talent about the news.
Okada added that Ogawa’s decision to leave STARDOM was revealed to talent and staff during their Takadanobaba show on January 21st. However, after the continuation of his attempts to poach talent and staff amidst his exit, the company made the decision to terminate his contract due to the seriousness of the situation.
Regarding the talent that the company believes Ogawa has made attempts to poach, President Okada stated that many of these talents are title holders and top stars, and that, should these wrestlers decide to follow Ogawa, Bushiroad may have no choice but to shut down STARDOM.
“We are aware that many of the players who have been accused (of being poached) are title holders and other popular players. If these players leave, Stardom will not be able to continue to operate, and in the worst-case scenario, we may have to shut down the company.”
-Taro Okada
As for the speculation that Ogawa may look to form a new promotion in the wake of his exit, something that has since been confirmed by the man himself, Okada stated that regardless of whether his is the case or not, Ogawa’s actions still constitute a major breach of his contract with the company.
“Regardless of whether or not he starts a new organization himself, we recognize that his solicitation to quit Stardom and work for another organization while his contract with our company was still in effect was a serious breach of contract as an act of extraction.”
-Taro Okada
Additionally, it appears as though several wrestlers and staff are indeed intent on following Ogawa out of STARDOM, as Okada confirmed that several talents have already expressed their desire to leave or have asked for advice on the matter.
“I have had several players express their intention to leave or ask me for advice, saying, ‘I am wondering if I should leave.'”
-Taro Okada
In terms of the immediate future for STARDOM, Okada, who only became the company’s President on December 1st last year, and will serve as the company’s producer for the time being, highlighted his desire to reestablish the promotion’s structure and formulate a strategy to achieve their goals.
“Within our group, we have people who understand and have experience in the wrestling industry, so with their guidance and cooperation, we will build a solid organization and reestablish the company’s structure. I believe that by revitalizing the local tournaments, we will be able to increase the turnout for the big matches in major cities, and we will formulate a strategy to achieve this.”
-Taro Okada
Ogawa’s contract termination is likely to have a seismic ripple effect across the landscape of Joshi wrestling, and should he indeed decide to form a new promotion, it will be interesting to see which names choose to follow him.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Rossy Ogawa’s STARDOM departure and the implications this will have for the company moving forward as soon as we hear more.
Translated using DeepL.
