Tetsuya Naito Strongly Denies Money Behind NJPW Exit
Tetsuya Naito has given more details on his decision to leave NJPW.
On April 16th, NJPW announced the shock departure of Tetsuya Naito. The news came as a shock to many in the industry as Naito was considered a New Japan lifer and one of the promotion’s biggest stars.
Soon afterwards, Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer claimed that Naito’s dispute with the company came down to money. However, Naito has now disputed that reasoning.
In a new interview with Tokyo Sports, the five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion explained that he didn’t bring up money in renewal talks.
“Let me be clear: in the five contract renewals I’ve had, I never once brought up money. Ever since they made me the initial offer in the first negotiation, I never touched the subject again. It’s extremely frustrating to have people think I’m quitting because of money, and honestly, I think it’s Tokyo Sports’ fault. But if Tokyo Sports writes about it, it somehow sounds even more like a lie, so what the heck am I supposed to do…?
“I never made any unreasonable demands. I never said, ‘Since I’m wrestling more, pay me more,’ or ‘That guy wrestles less, pay him less.’ I just wanted them to properly value what a wrestler’s match is worth. I’ve been saying that for years. I get that the number of wrestlers has increased, and there are unavoidable circumstances, but still…”
Tetsuya Naito Addresses Hiroshi Tanahashi’s Statement On NJPW Departure
Shortly after the news broke, NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi issued a statement on Tetsuya Naito’s departure, apologising to fans and saying he had asked El Ingobernable to stay with the company.
In the Tokyo Sports interview, Naito questioned the fan backlash to the statement but claimed the company didn’t do a lot to convince him to stay.
“Did they do that when other wrestlers left? I think it’s wrong that President Tanahashi got some heat from the fans because of that. Tanahashi only showed up during the final (fifth) contract negotiation anyway. Sure, maybe I made some selfish requests. But they didn’t exactly work hard to convince me to stay.”
He explained that it took New Japan over a month to contact him about negotiations after this contract expired in January, adding that he hopes his departure leads to a change in how the promotion approaches future deals.
“After my contract expired on January 31st (as a contracted wrestler), it took more than a month before they even contacted me for the next negotiation. I’m not trying to say, ‘Why didn’t you do this or that for me?’ now. But if they don’t change the way they handle contracts, I think the same thing will keep happening in the coming years. I really hope my departure prompts them to rethink how they approach contract renewals.”
H/T to ITR Wrestling for the above translation.