As many of you know by now, former STARDOM founder Rossy Ogawa was fired from the company back in February.
On February 5th, Bushiroad announced that it had “cancelled” Ogawa’s contract after they found he had poached talent from the company.
Speaking during a recent interview with Encount, current STARDOM President Taro Okada commented on Ogawa’s exit from the company he formed.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On how things went down: “It was more complicated and serious than I expected. Considering sales, I felt that the organization was unstable. Like a venture company aiming for sales of 120 million 200 million yen, we managed to do everything with a lunch box. There were a lot of young staff, so I thought it would take some time to build an organization, but from a management standpoint, if you put in the time and money, you can get things done in a year. I had interviews with all the players in January and December, and what I found out during those meetings was that things related to professional wrestling were left to the players and Mr. Ogawa, but there were some important points here and there. That led to dissatisfaction and complaints among the players. Then, we learned from several players that they were planning to leave STARDOM and form a new organization.”
On feeling that he had to terminate Ogawa: “One player said, ‘If Mr. Ogawa quits, I will follow him.’ There was a story that said, ‘Then, if you quit quitting, you won’t quit!’ And so we first looked for ways to work together (with Mr. Ogawa). However, when I first met Mr. Ogawa, he told me that he was quitting. At that time, I thought it was a matter of physical strength. Then, in January of this year, I heard that Mr. Ogawa was talking to many players who were going independent. If the company splits up like this, it would become an unstable business as a subsidiary of a listed company. If that happens, the company may downsize its business or separate from the group. While I was in a contract where I was paid to do work for STARDOM, I was doing things that caused damage, so I had no choice but to stop this chain of events, so I made the decision to terminate the contract.”
Ogawa is now running DREAM STAR FIGHTING Marigold, which will hold its first event on May 20 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Former STARDOM founder Rossy Ogawa was fired from the company in February after it was discovered that he had poached talent. The announcement of his contract cancellation was made by Bushiroad on February 5th. In a recent interview with Encount, current STARDOM President Taro Okada discussed Ogawa’s departure and the reasons behind it.
Okada revealed that the situation was more complicated and serious than he had anticipated. He expressed concerns about the organization’s stability and mentioned that despite having a young staff, he believed it would take time to build a solid foundation. However, after conducting interviews with the players, he discovered that there were issues related to professional wrestling that were being neglected by Ogawa. This led to dissatisfaction and complaints among the wrestlers.
Furthermore, Okada learned that several players were planning to leave STARDOM and form a new organization. One player even stated that they would follow Ogawa if he decided to quit. Okada attempted to find ways to work together with Ogawa, but when they met, Ogawa informed him of his decision to quit. In January of this year, Okada also discovered that Ogawa was in talks with many independent wrestlers. Concerned about the potential instability of the company as a subsidiary of a listed company, Okada made the difficult decision to terminate Ogawa’s contract.
Since his departure from STARDOM, Ogawa has started his own venture called DREAM STAR FIGHTING Marigold. The company is set to hold its first event on May 20 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
The firing of Rossy Ogawa has undoubtedly caused a significant shakeup in the world of professional wrestling. As fans eagerly await the debut of DREAM STAR FIGHTING Marigold, it remains to be seen how Ogawa’s new venture will fare and whether it will be able to compete with established organizations like STARDOM.