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What's the story?
PWInsider is reporting on a new outlet for New Japan Pro Wrestling to air their product. A deal is in place for the company to air on a television station in India.
In case you didn't know...
Legendary wrestler Antonio Inoki founded New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1972. Inoki remained president of the company until 1989. In 2010, he was part of the WWE Hall Of Fame class for his contributions to pro wrestling.
The heart of the matter
Discovery Communications announced that their new channel DSport will broadcast New Japan Pro Wrestling. The DSport channel launched in India earlier this year and already broadcasts Ring of Honor and Lucha Underground in the country.
This new deal will bring New Japan Pro Wrestling to over 70 million homes across the nation. For comparison sake, POP TV brings Impact Wrestling to over 75 million homes across the United States, while USA Today brings Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live to over 95 million homes across the United States.
At the time of this writing, it is unknown when DSport will start airing programming from New Japan Pro Wrestling.
What's next?
The next big event for New Japan Pro Wrestling is Wrestle Kingdom 12 which takes place on January 4th from the Tokyo Dome. The main event will be the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, defending his title against Tatsuya Naito.
The card will also feature the dream match where Chris Jericho will take on Kenny Omega for the IWGP United States Championship.
Author's take
I think this is great for everyone involved. There are a lot of pro wrestling fans in India, and they now have a chance to see a great promotion with a roster of amazing talent.
For New Japan Pro Wrestling, it further extends their brand as they have done some major expansion this year, including their first ever show in the United States as well as the creation of the IWGP United States Championship.
