Stardom President Taro Okada on Decision to Fire Rossy Ogawa & Confirms Several Stardom Talent Planning to Leave

As noted before, Stardom founder and head booker Rossy Ogawa was fired by Bushiroad on Sunday over claims that Ogawa was trying to poach Stardom talent and staff in an attempt to leave the company without their knowledge.

Tokyo Sports held a recent interview with Stardom President Taro Okada. One of the topics discussed included Okada’s thoughts on Bushiroad’s decision to fire Ogawa and how it could have been an avoidable situation.

“Around December, we began to hear information that Mr. Ogawa was poaching people out of the company. We had always verbally told him, ‘If you are doing that, please stop,’ and, ‘We would like to continue working together in the future,’ but we were able to confirm that he has continued to do so since then, so we have taken these measures.”

Okada also stated that he is aware that many Stardom talents who have been poached by Rossy are either title holder or very popular stars and the worst case scenario is if all of those talents leave, there is the possibility that Stardom might end up shutting down.

“We are aware that many of the wrestlers (who have been poached) are title holders and other popular wrestlers. If those wrestlers leave… in the worst-case scenario, there was a possibility we would have to close the company. After internal consideration, we notified STARDOM that we would be terminating the contract immediately.”

Okada also gave his thoughts about several Stardom talents have already approached him expressing their intentions to either leave the company or are considering the idea of leaving once their contracts expire.

“I have had several wrestlers express their intention to leave the company or are thinking about leaving.”

Okada also gave his thoughts about the future of Stardom in light of Ogawa’s firing.

“Within our group, we have people who understand and have experience in the wrestling industry, so with their guidance and cooperation, we will build a solid organization and strengthen the company’s structure. I believe that by revitalizing the local shows, we will be able to increase the turnout for the big matches in major cities, so we will formulate a solid strategy.”

English translation via PostWrestling.com