I can say that it’s been a crazy week for the world of professional wrestling, especially in the Japanese scene. During a press conference on July 10th, Jun Akiyama has announced that he would stepping down from his presidential role in the company. The reason behind his decision was so that he could focus more on the in-ring competition again along with keeping an eye on helping out the talent, like how Atsushi Aoki did when he was alive.
Jun Akiyama took over as the president of All Japan Pro Wrestling on June 4th, 2014. During the time that AJPW was considered a dead company with the dark ages that they’ve endured over the past few years. To some, it seemed like it would be an impossible goal to do but Jun was determined to help bring All Japan to his glory days.
For the past five years, he did what he said he would do by turning the company around, help them make a better profit compared to the previous years, Help slowly build a bridge with Pro Wrestling NOAH, and since he has a great mind for the business, he was able to book some quality shows while creating stars in the process. During his time as the president, he created a golden goose in Kento Miyahara and made him the top star of the company which helped them out tremendously in the long run.
Jun Akiyama Stepping Down As President of AJPW
It was announced during the press conference that Tsuyoki Fukuda will be the one that will be the new president of the company. Fukuda has been apart of the company for a while. His roles has been that as a CEO and will now be stepping up to take over in this role.
However, not all is lost since Jun will also have a big role with the company as he did announce that he will be a general manager, which is the first time this has happened in the companies history. This will be so that he’ll still be a booker for the company and focus on the talent along with his own career. Tsuyoki will help out with the financial side of the business and with the two of them working together, they can only go up from here.
A Great Business Decision
While I thank Jun for his services for helping All Japan with its much-needed revival after the Keiji Mutoh years, I think it’s a great business decision and we’ll still be one of the top guys behind the scenes if things start to go sour. Jun’s final date as president will happen on October 10th, so they have plenty of time to think of the future of this company.
