Chris Jericho’s voice boomed out across the arena and like that the match was set, Jericho vs Omega at the Tokyo Dome. More importantly from a business standpoint, this was a transition for New Japan Pro Wrestling.

In 2016 WWE raided the NJPW sweetie jar, taking Styles, Nakamura and the team of Gallows & Anderson, at this point NJPW management realised they were firmly in the sights of Vince’s US behemoth even if they were not in the collective conscience of the US wrestling public.

With the advent of NJPW World streaming service and the threat of further talent raids, it was time for a change. NJPW needed to hit the US head-on, being a quiet rival to WWE was no longer an option, in a time of fight or flight NJPW put on the gloves and headed to Los Angeles.

The G1 special from LA was both a critical and commercial success, whilst WWE publicly ignored it, there must have been raised eyebrows in the boardroom. For the first time in almost two decades, WWE had what could be real competition.

The signing of Jericho is more symbolic than it is a solid wrestling decision, it’s a declaration of war. A 2017 Chris Jericho is an ageing Sports Entertainer walking into the worlds greatest wrestling company. NJPW is famous for its high-quality matchups and strong style, to deliver on that level Jericho will need to tap into his 90’s/00’s peak. If he can do it with anyone he can do it with one of the greatest pro wrestlers on the planet Kenny Omega.

For the sake of Pro Wrestling competition let’s hope this gamble is a huge success.