News

Tony Khan Thrilled By Major Firing In Japanese Wrestling

By Lyle Kilbane • Published 5th February 2024
Tony Khan

Tony Khan has given his reaction to the firing of STARDOM founder Rossy Ogawa and it seems the AEW boss is pleased to see him go.

Bushiroad is the parent company of both New Japan Pro Wrestling and STARDOM and they have now announced that STARDOM founder Rossy Ogawa has been let go from his role. A statement released by the company sheds some light on why the decision was taken (translation courtesy of Google):

Since 2019 , our company has entered into a contract with Rossy Ogawa, the founder of Stardom, and has appointed him as an executive producer and outsourced work related to Stardom. However, we would like to inform you that we have come to know that he has poached many Stardom players and staff members, and we have decided to cancel this contract.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. As a company, we will continue to aim for the further development of Stardom, and the players and staff will continue to work together to deliver excitement to the fans, so we will continue to receive the same compliments as before. I am very fortunate.

Tony Khan’s Reaction Suggests More At Play

Tony Khan celebrated the news – and the return of Curb Your Enthusiasm – by posting a GIF of Larry David on social media alongside the simple message “Bye Rossy!”

Perhaps more interestingly, Khan followed up by sharing two more GIFs. One featured the inimitable Burgess Meredith as Penguin with the caption on the GIF itself reading “It’s a clear case of industrial espionage” and one from The Sopranos with a caption that read “The feds had an undercover agent in Dr. Schreck’s office.”

Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer has noted that he believes the story of Ogawa’s firing is “way bigger” than that of his leaving.

Perhaps STARDOM’s biggest current star is Giulia and there have been suggestions that Giulia is heading to WWE at the end of her current contract. Reports have suggested that AEW have not even approached the star about heading to Tony Khan’s company which would be unusual given their recent recruitment drive.