One of the founders of the Japanese promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, Rossy Ogawa, had to step down from his role as executive producer as the promotion after Bushiroad announced the termination of his contract on February 4.
The reason cited for the termination on Stardom’s official website is that Rossy had been poaching talent. Rossy revealed that the company informed him that his contract was terminated right after a 13th-anniversary event at Edion Arena Osaka on February 4. Speaking to Tokyo Sports, he revealed that “They even put me in a taxi and sent me home.”
“I have no attachment to this company,” he said. “It’s just the way they did it. They could have communicated properly, right? Even if they didn’t announce it suddenly. They could have said, ‘Please leave by February 5.’ But instead, they abruptly cut ties…”
“I was being pressured into playing certain cards, and there was harassment within the company,” he said. “It continued, and I lost the will to continue here.”
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Rossy also talked about his efforts to start a new organization. “A new organization? Yes, that’s right. There are quite a few things that I can’t do here that I want to do again. Just because it’s a large corporation doesn’t mean you can do anything.”
About the poaching accusations about him, Rossy clarified: “We didn’t do it. We heard rumors, and many players expressed their desire to come here (to the new organization). So, they (Stardom) might have panicked as well. However, President Okada (Taro) ‘approved’ (the new organization). He said, ‘We’ll offer (it) to BUNTAI (in Yokohama),’ and ‘Let’s have a competition in two years for the 15th anniversary.’ So, why are they saying this now?”
However, Stardom president Taro Okada said that they heard about Ogawa’s poaching talent in December. “We verbally told him to stop such activities and expressed our desire to continue working together. However, as we continued to confirm that he was persisting with headhunting, we took this action,” Taro told Tokyo Sports.
Taro also noted, “We recognize that the players affected by the headhunting are many popular players, including titleholders. If these players were to leave, Stardom’s promotions would not be sustainable, and in the worst-case scenario, the company might have to fold. Therefore, after internal deliberation, we immediately notified him of the contract termination.”
He also added that regardless of Rossy starting a new organization, they consider it a violation of contract that he solicited Stardom talents to leave while still being in a contract with the company.
As for other wrestlers following Rossy to his organization, Taro said, “We have received expressions of intent to leave from several wrestlers and consultations about whether to leave.”
