NXT: Japan Pro Wrestling - King of Strong Style

In order to truly appreciate where we’ve come to in the year 2020, we must first travel back in time. A brief history lesson, if you weeell..

January 7th, 1953 Vincent J. McMahon along with his father Jess McMahon began promoting Professional Wrestling in the North East of the United States of America as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). By 1963, Vincent J. McMahon had partnered with legendary promoter Toots Mondt and together the two split from affiliation with the National Wrestling Alliance, renaming their domineering wrestling promotion World Wide Wrestling Federation.

As the 1960s drew to a close, Toots Mondt would depart from the World Wide Wrestling Federation leaving Vincent J. McMahon the sole owner of the company. In 1971, the WWWF would re-join the National Wrestling Alliance. The decade would draw to a close with the WWWF dropping the word “wide” from it’s moniker in 1979.

The 1980s would be a truly groundbreaking time for the recently christened World Wrestling Federation. The elder Vincent J. McMahon sold the wrestling promotion to his son, Vincent K. McMahon and wife Linda McMahon in 1982. Seeking to make the WWF the premier wrestling promotion in the country, and eventually, the world, he began an expansion process that fundamentally changed the wrestling business. At the annual National Wrestling Alliance meeting in 1983, Vincent K. McMahon officially withdrew the WWF from the NWA.

As the “Golden Age” of the 1980s drew to a close, the WWF saw record attendances, buyrates, the birth of the pay-per-view business, merchandising never before dreamed of and profits that ushered in an era of global professional wrestling dominance that certainly couldn’t falter. Then the doldrum days of the mid-90s struck and the New Generation branding of the World Wrestling Federation made a lasting mark in Vincent K. McMahons mind that he must always build for the future. More on that later though.

The Attitude Era raged in the late 90s, with Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock leading the charge for the World Wrestling Federation. The company's main, and oldest promotional rival, World Championship Wrestling put up a valiant effort in the late stretch of the 90s but would eventually be crushed by the dominating WWF at the dawn of the new decade.

The 2000s saw the WWF reap the rewards of success brought on by the late 90s Attitude Era. Never was this more the case then when the WWF crushed their competition in 2001, purchasing both World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling. The ensuing down period in the North American wrestling scene would lead the WWF on a global expansion the likes of never before.

In 2005 the World Wrestling Federation would be forced to change it’s name due to a lawsuit, and the company would be renamed World Wrestling Entertainment. Befittingly so, as owner Vincent K. McMahon had never been proud of being apart of the “professional wrestling” business anyways. He’d instead insisted on calling his product, “sports entertainment,” and always been quoted as saying, “we make movies.”

In 2010 after multiple attempts at partnering up with lesser known wrestling promotions in an attempt to develop WWE Superstars for the future, NXT was born. Originally a filler show scheduled to take over for the now defunct WWECW show, second rate citizen status wouldn’t last for long.

On February 27, 2014 live on the WWE Network, NXT held “NXT: Arrival,” which was the very first live event on the newly launched WWE streaming service. Over the course of the next few years, NXT would cement itself as not just a development venture for the World Wrestling Federation, but as a stand alone product that could be financially solvent. Evidence could be found in the 2018 creation of the United Kingdom based brand of NXT.

Now as we draw closer to WWE Wrestlemania 36, the financial success of the multiple brands encompassed within the WWE umbrella can not be denied. So much so in fact, Vincent K. McMahon’s son-in-law, former professional wrestler, Triple H has expansion on his mind once again. As the creator of the massively successful and popular NXT brand, Triple H has been given the golden keys to the World Wrestling Entertainment kingdom, over the past couple of years. Carte blanche to do as he pleases, for the most part.



Triple H: “Vince, I’m glad you have a second.”

Vince McMahon: “Always have time for you boy.. Now lemme see them guns!”

Triple H tries his hardest to push the sleeves of his dress shirt up over his bicep, but before being able to do so, Vince wraps both of his own hands around the bulging muscle.

Vince McMahon: “Ahh… so vascular..”

Triple H: “Vinc- ..Da.. Da, Mr. McMahon, stop.. Please.”

Vince McMahon: “Yes, right. Hunter, what did you want to speak with me about?”

Triple H: “The success of the original NXT brand, and now NXT UK, I think it’s time we branch out into other areas.”

Vince McMahon: “Where did you have in mind.”

Triple H: “Mexico.. and Japan. As we draw closer to Wrestlemania 36, I was thinking we could double down and get something off the ground in Japan. I’ve had a team working together for nearly a year now solidifying details, contacts..”

Vince McMahon: “The Orient?”

Triple H: “Well, Japan.. I’m not sure you can- ..look, I’ve been in contact with someone about heading up the product, recently retired Japanese Professional Wrestling legend, Jushin Thunder Liger.”

Vince McMahon: "Jushin Thunder who!? I hate thunder, and storms! What about Funaki?"

Triple H: "I'll tell Funaki, ..and I won't suggest Lance Storm if we open NXT: Canada."

Vince McMahon: "Lance Storm, that guys soooo boring! I'm glad he doesn't work here anymore."

Triple H: "Actually, we just re-hired him last month."

Vince McMahon: "We did?"

Triple H: "We did."

Vince McMahon: "Ah, fire him!"