New World Pro-Wrestling - The New Alternative

[PWC2017]

Setting the scene

​

The story starts in the Summer of 2025. The wrestling landscape is one of big ideas and big money but no true alternative to the usual weekly episodic soap opera with the same in ring promos, the same gimmick matches, the same false finishes. An ambitious Las Vegas based private equity group looking at ways to build they're portfolio saw potential in pro-wrestling. Matt Manson was a 37 year old British Sports Executive who had built an extensive CV working within the Hong Kong and North American Soccer league systems.

Manson was living in Las Vegas, a city where had been based for over 8 years, moving to the USA in 2016 as part of 'Project 26', designed to create a UK style Soccer League pyramid in North America. Manson had moved to Las Vegas from Hong Kong in 2016. He had been living in Hong Kong since leaving the UK aged 20 in 2007. As with all these things, it was a girl he was seeing who's father worked for the British Embassy in Hong Kong meant when she asked Manson to come with her he jumped at the chance.

Life in Hong Kong was initially tough, with Manson only knowing very basic words in Cantonese but he loved the social aspect of the big city. As the months went by he picked up more and more words and also went to language class. By the time 2009 came round he was a lot more comfortable in conversations with locals and in his role working for a Boxing Promotion where he would assist a friend with seeing up events locally. Around the same time he got a major job at the HK Football Association as a competition assistant helping with all areas of the league, updating the social media accounts and website. He realised quite quickly that he believed the league system needed a lot of work and put forward some proposals to the HK Senior Management. They were impressed and believed having a younger person leading a new project would make sense.

As the years went by he split with the girl he had first met in 2006 and now had quite the impressive social circle. A good group of friends, mainly other expats and had quite the life. Living in Kennedy Town from 2009 to 2014 he was playing football a couple of times a week for a local team. Family would come over a couple of times a year and he would return back to the UK around once every two years. It was a great time.

Manson first came into contact with Tony Khan in June 2010. He and Khan had been introduced with each other in Hong Kong at a Commercial Sports event. Most of the conversation was about the growth of football in Hong Kong. Khans father Shahid was in the process of building his own sporting empire taking over the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier in the year and were looking at other investments. But talk soon turned to Pro-Wrestling. Manson was what you would call a 'Part-Time' fan. Something he watched as a kid during the 90's and kind of kept up with what was going on but seemed less and less. He had become more interested in Boxing and MMA, like many others.

Part of Manson and Khans initial conversations both in person and by email was how would a new promotion work? For Khan, it would be a mix of all non WWE organisations. Manson disagreed. He believed it needed to be a true alternative. For him, WWE were always going to be the best at everything but what they didnt do was pro-wrestling as a pseudo legitimate sport. Weight classes, Time limits, a sports presentation. Khan understood and the two would spend the next 6 years talking about ways to start a new promotion.

Khan had the money, Manson had the vision. In the end, after many years of back and forth Khan decided on what he believed it was going to be and asked Manson to come on board. Manson knew that if he decided to take Khans offer, he wouldn't have the autonomy to create and mould what he believed would be a successful alternative to WWE. He understood it wasn't his money so it wasn't his place and knew Khan had the passion and ambition himself. He knew he would be treading on toes so decided to decline the offer.

It was around the same time, the Summer of 2015 that Manson got another offer, this time to head 'Project 26' a huge plan to create a UK style Soccer League pyramid in North America. The offer came from two capital investment firms as well as the US Soccer Federation. This offer gave Manson the opportunity to plan the next 10 years himself. He would be given full control of the project which allowed him to plan ahead. In May 2016 he moved from Hong Kong to Las Vegas to start the next chapter of his life.

 

[PWC2017]

Setting the Scene - 2
​

The next 10 years were busy but fulfilling. Based in Las Vegas, Manson was really enjoying life out there with drives out to the Nevada and Utah desert, partying in Sin City and easy trips to LA and the West Coast, his life had it all. There was a real difference from living in Hong Kong, and he missed the hustle and bustle of HK life but equally fell in love with Vegas. It wasn't all play out there, he was working hard, very hard with longer days travelling most weeks around the Country as well as Canada. He was affectively a sole contractor creating a brand new league system from nothing. He needed contacts and needed help both from the various soccer leagues in North America and from 2016 to 2024 had, alongside and with great assistance with the executives from MLS, USL and other leagues created the outlines of the pyramid. A league system, starting in February 2026 would have over 400 teams across the US and Canada. It was a huge job but Manson had developed immense pride in what the 2026 North American Soccer League was going to look like.

Part of the role over that 8 year period was creating new teams and developing new markets, and to do that meant dealing with lots of different businesses looking to invest. One of the big changes Manson saw was the increase in private equity looking to invest in Sport. From 2016 to 2024 numerous Capital Investment firms had started investing in either Soccer, US Sports as well as MMA and of course Pro Wrestling.

By the time the Summer of 2024 had come around, the base for Project 26 was pretty much completed. The league and pyramid structure was agreed by all of the relevant parties involved including new offices for the newly reformed NASL in Irvine, California. The MLS would stay in New York with both Presidents staying in there respective roles. Manson was offered to stay on in an unofficial capacity but felt that once the job had been done with Project 26 he wanted to move away from any league projects in Soccer going forward.

One of the Investment Firms Manson had been in contact with was Pershing Square Capital Management along with there subsidiary Howard Hughes LLC. A major hedge fund based in New York. They had been one of many firms with an interest in taking over a soccer team. The first conversations took place in 2018, and by 2021 they had agreed to take over the Las Vegas Lights, a small team playing in the USL. Manson was ok with the deal as it meant a complete restructure with Pershing acquiring rights to the a new name for the team, 'Atletico Las Vegas' as well as ring fencing around $550M to build a new 22,500 stadium just south of Harry Reid International Airport, on Las Vegas Blvd and Hidden Well Drive. The stadium development broke ground in May 2023 with an opening date the opening day of the MLS Third League in February 2026.

In April 2024 Pershing and Howard Hughes formed a new spin off LLC called Seaport Entertainment Group. The new group would be the Holding company for both Atletico Las Vegas as well as Minor League Baseball team the Las Vegas Aviators. The LLC would also own various entertainment and developments around the US.

The first discussions between Manson and Seaport/Pershing were in the Summer of 2023 at the groundbreaking of the new Atletico Las Vegas stadium. Seaport/Pershing wanted to expand there entertainment and sporting portfolio but didnt know what to invest in. Manson proposed coming on board and managing both the soccer team as well as becoming the figurehead of a pro-wrestling organisation.

 

[PWC2017]

Setting the Scene - 3 ​

The pro-wrestling business in 2023 into 2024 was a saturated one. With WWE, AEW, TNA as the main Three organisations, as well as a myriad of 'Minor' league indie promotions could a new one be in any way profitable in the long term? Looking at the landscape, Manson believed there would be only one way of making it work. The only way would be to invest in already established companies and amalgamate into one larger organisation with footholds in the North American and Far Eastern markets.

After discussions with Pershing over the rest of 2023, Manson was given the green light to get the ball rolling looking at potential options. Mansons idea was having an alternative style of pro-wrestling. A sports presentation with a focus on a Japanese Strong Style philosophy. So looking at a Japanese promotion made sense in the first instance. The biggest promotion was NJPW. The the biggest Japanese promotions revenue was only around $35M a year which in comparison to WWE at over $1B and even AEW at over $120M was tiny. On one hand, putting a proposal together to take over and keep the company running as a going concern would not be that costly. The losses the company was making was not massive, around $1M a year. With Mansons ideas regarding amalgamation with a North American promotion and having One 'World wide' organisation, he believed he would be able to sell the new Company to streaming services, live event venues as well as other commercial partners and bring in more investment.

In September 2024, and after looking at the financials and doing due diligence on NJPW as a whole, Manson went back to Pershing and put the full proposal together.

• $5M offer to buy the full 10% stake from TV Asahi
• $2.5M offer to buy the full 5% stake from Amuse Inc
• $35M offer to buy a 36% stake from Bushiroad

The deal would mean Pershing would then own 51% of NJPW with Bushiroad owning the other 49%. The reason for not attempting to not take over the other 49% was that Manson believed having Bushiroad still on board but not having the controlling stake could help with knowledge of the Japanese market as well as assisting with any cultural differences.

Manson also advised that an initial investment of around $250M to make sure bills could be paid and the business could still be run as a going concern would need to be made. After on going conversations in both the US and Japan with various legal counsels and advisors it looked like a deal with both TV Asahi and Amuse could be done quickly as both stakes were small.

Behind closed doors discussions went incredible well and smooth. Thankfully, Manson was assisted by incredibly smart people from Pershing who knew business practice in the Far East and by January 2025, both the TV Asahi and Amuse transactions were completed.

Manson was in Tokyo to close the deal and Pershing were back in the USA putting together confirmation by statement

 

[PWC2017]

Setting the Scene - 4​

While the negotiations were going on with the various investors in Japan, Manson was also looking at options in North America. The most obvious option was the NWA. From a purely IP point of view, the history and heritage could be a huge asset and decent starting point to grow a new Promotion. Having the IP of both NWA and NJPW/IWGP was one of the reasons Manson pushed for negotiations with Billy Corgan.

The two first met at the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood in July 2024. Manson believed Corgan wanted assurances that the name and IP would be treated with the respect it deserved. Manson made it clear that with the investment he would have and with the philosophy he had in mind he believed the new organisation, over time, could be a natural alternative to WWE and AEW.

The first meeting was quite relaxed and informal. Most of the evening was talking about the business of music as well as wrestling. No offers were made but both parties wanted to feel each other out. Manson left LA with the belief Corgan would take a reasonable offer if it ever came up.
A month later, Corgan returned the favour and flew out to Las Vegas. He arrived at a new office space Seaport had leased downtown for both the new Soccer, Baseball and Wrestling operations. The two sat down in Mansons new head office on the top floor and talked more about the plan for the organisation long term.

Manson bullet pointed his long term aim and vision for the company.

• * 2026 start date
• * Amalgamate NJPW and NWA to create one singular Organisation
• *NWA and IWGP would be 'Governing Bodies' under one umbrella
• *Strong Style philosophy of Wrestling across both governing bodies
• *Sports based presentation / Time Limits / Weight classes / Win & Loss records
• *Guaranteed big name streaming provider

After the presentation of the long term goals for the NWA and NJPW, Manson advised that Seaport / Pershing would look to send an official over to Corgans management company Lightning One Inc in due course. The initial offer sent in October 2024 was $10M for 100% of the organisation. Corgan rejected the first offer stating he would require a larger offer due to the money he had invested in the company over the years and wanted some sort of return. After looking at the books and doing further due diligence Manson returned in late November 2024 with a 2nd offer. The offer now was $25M for 100% of the company and all of the Intellectual Property.

By January 2025 and although no official confirmation of any acceptance or rejection of the new offer had taken place, Manson and Seaport were happy that they were in a good position with the feeling that both takeovers of NJPW and NWA very close to been completed. The headquarters of the new organisation was taking shape in downtown Las Vegas and multiple appointments were starting to take place and the outline for the new board of directors as well as other members of the front office were well underway. It now felt like things were falling into place.

 

[PWC2017]

Setting the Scene - 5​

One of the over-arching conversations the team at Seaport were having while both negotiations were going on was the potential, long term financial success of the transaction. Manson believed that the initial investment to take over both NJPW and NWA which would be in the region of $80M Dollars was easily something that could be returned on pretty quickly. The long term aim was to increase the value of the new company to around $500M to $1B by 2030. Manson believed this was possible. The reason for this was a couple of things. Streaming services were in the market for more live sport content. Manson knew this during his time on Project 26 been at the forefront of a huge $4.5 Billion Dollar deal with DAZN to show all non linear TV MLS matches on the platform from 2026 to 2031.

That deal showed that there was a massive need for content, live content. The $5 Billion, 10 year WWE deal with Netflix had been announced and Manson knew it was time to strike while the iron was hot. AEW's deal with Warner was around $150/180 Million a year for around 4 years so he could see two ends of the spectrum. One was the all encompassing juggernaut, the other was the newish kid on the block.

AEW's most recent valuation was around $1.5 Billion dollars. From what Manson could see of there business practice, he felt there was more than enough scope for the new promotion to be in or around that number within 5 years.

Project 26 had given Manson access to negotiations with all of the major players in broadcasting. He had been in conversation with DAZN, Netflix, Disney as well as the traditional linear companies like FOX and NBC. Although talk of a new Pro-Wrestling company had never taken place during these conversations, Manson at least had a way in, a trust with these companies and believed there would be interest from all major entertainment powerhouses.

Manson knew that especially with NJPW, he would have a product that was well loved and respected by many people but was struggling. Attendances were down, major stars had left the organisation and saw the opportunity to turn it round.

In February 2025 the offer to buy the NWA had been accepted and contracts were signed by both Seaport and Lightning Inc. The idea was to close NWA and all of it's shoot off regional 'territories' in June 2025. Manson believed that building Western stars in Japan up until a start date for the new promotion in January 2026 made most sense. Then those stars could then move to Las Vegas and the basis for the 'NWA' side of the new promotion could start.

 

[PWC2017]

Setting the Scene - 6​

One of the important things that took place at the start of the initial negotiations to take over NJPW and NWA was signed NDAs. Seaport and Manson did not want anything leaking to the press until both transactions were complete and contracts were signed and if anything had leaked, clauses in the contracts would have meant financial penalties for the relevant parties. As the deal with Billy Corgan and Lightning Inc had been completed in February 2025, Seaport knew it was imperative to complete the transaction with Bushiroad. As the TV Asahi and Amuse Inc deals had been completed pretty painlessly, with Bushiroad, the negotiations had been a little more difficult. Ultimately, they didn't want to sell all of there stake in the company. Seaport came back to the table with an offer for 36% of there stake which meant Seaport would have a majority ownership in the new company and Bushiroad would still have a large stake as well. Throughout February and March 2025, Manson and Seaport Legal and Executives made multiple trips to Tokyo to close the deal.

On March 3rd 2025, the transaction for 36% of Bushiroads stake in NJPW was accepted for $35 Million Dollars. This meant that NJPW was now majority owned by Seaport with 51% of NJPW with Bushiroad owning the other 49%. The contracts were signed in Tokyo and a new working relationship was agreed. Seaport would take over all management and control of the newly formed organisation as well as have voting rights for all board decisions. As part of the new company, there would be 4 members from Seaport and 2 from Bushiroad.

It was agreed that the new organisation formed would be called 'New World Pro-Wrestling'. This name represented the history and heritage of the strong style pro wrestling landscape of Japan as well as the goal and ambition to take that style of wrestling to a much more wider and more worldwide audience.

On the same day, a new LLC was set up in Delaware 'New World Pro-Wrestling LLC' and statements were sent out though PR Newswire. Manson and the rest of Seaport returned to Las Vegas, after around 3 years of planning and around a year of negotiations, they were now owners and now the next round of work was to start. Groundwork for a 2026 start date.

 

[PWC2017]

5th March 2025
Private Equity firm Seaport Entertainment Group takes over NJPW and NWA for a combined $80M, new company formed 'New World Pro-Wrestling'. Bushiroad will still have stake in company.
110+ likes
davemeltzerWON
(Twitter) · 15 hours ago

5th March 2025
'New World Pro-Wrestling' will be headquartered in Las Vegas, NV but still have two members of Bushiroad on it's board. Ongoing story
1k+ likes
Fightful
(Twitter) · 14 hours ago

5th March 2025
Idea is for IWGP and NWA to be 'Governing bodies' with weekly events in both the Far East and North America. New World Pro-Wrestling will be the umbrella but NWA and IWGP will be the names on the belts
5k+ likes
davemeltzerWON
(Twitter) · 1 hour ago

5th March 2025
New promotion looking to start in 2026. NWA will finish all upcoming events in June 2025. NJPW will continue until WrestleKingdom. Statement from Seaport due at 12pm EST.
4+ likes
Fightful
(Twitter) · 13 hours ago

 

[Gambit]

Interesting concept. I'm looking forward to seeing where you take this. And how having both the NWA and IWGP as "governing bodies" will work out. I'm all for a more "sports based" presentation in my wrestling BTBs

 

[PWC2017]

Setting the Scene - 7​

While negotiations were going on with Bushiroad in late 2024, the structure of exactly who would be on the board of directors of the new company was taking place. Manson knew the main players at Seaport and Pershing would be on there as they were the money people and with only 4 from the US and 2 from Japan the most obvious director coming from the Far East would be head of Bushiroad, Takaaki Kidani. One of the more left-field and interesting members of the new board was Harold Meji. Meji was the former head of NJPW but had left in 2020. Meji and Manson had met on numerous occasions and Manson felt Meji would be a good conduit between both parties. Could speak the language well and Meji and Bushiroad were still on decent terms and Manson hoped the offer of coming on board would be accepted.

By March 2025, most of the names were confirmed and the new board of directors for New World Pro-Wrestling was good to go. The next steps were making sure both the USA and Japanese day to day operations were in place. It made some sense not to touch the Japanese side of things for a few months and most of the work required was creating the groundwork for a January 2026 start in North America.

That work was already in hand but the biggest deal to be made was for a broadcaster. The first discussions Manson had was in June 2024 with two major streaming services and he believed he was close of completing a multi-year deal with one of them. The first broadcaster was DAZN. Conversations in both Las Vegas and London had gone well and they were very excited with Mansons proposals. An initial offer from DAZN of $100M a year for 5 years for 4 live events each week as well as upwards of 14 'PPVs' throughout the year was rejected by Seaport. Manson wanted long term guaranteed income higher than $100M and more in line what AEW had been given by Warner Discovery. Manson believed that New World Pro-Wrestling could become the genuine alternative to WWE over time.

The breakdown of the deal Seaport were bringing to the table is seen below:

• Guaranteed 5 year deal with no clauses from both sides
• New World Pro-Wrestling would produce 4 live events each week (2 in North America / Western Europe and 2 in Japan / SE / FE Asia) - 2 hours per event which would mean 8 hours of original live TV each week.
• New World Pro-Wrestling would produce upwards of 14 'PPV' events for both North American and FE / SE Asian audiences. PPV events would be an extra 4 hours of live TV during a PPV week.
• Shoulder programming produced by New World Pro-Wrestling including weekly studio shows / pre PPV 'Face Off / Press Conferences' events and all other related media included in deal.
• Guaranteed investment from Seaport Entertainment Group already secured for next 5 years to make sure company would be financially stable with no worries of breaches of contract.

Manson and Seaport wanted at least $225M a year for the 5 years working out at a guaranteed $1.1 Billion Dollars which was something DAZN would not agree to. It meant the other broadcaster Manson had initial talks with had now returned to the table. Manson and Amazon Prime had talked initially in Seattle at the Prime HQ at the start of July 2024. Talks were slow but ongoing throughout late 2024 and after they had heard DAZN had put the offer in, Amazon Prime were ready to come back to the table in a more serious way.

By February 2025, Manson and Seaport had two offers for an all in one, world-wide multi-year broadcasting rights deal. One was with DAZN and the other with Amazon Prime. Who would they choose?

 

[PWC2017]

Seaport Entertainment Group, Inc, complete take over of NWA Wrestling & New Japan Pro Wrestling - Announce new Promotion - New World Pro-Wrestling.

News provided by
Seaport Entertainment Group Inc
Mar 5, 2025, 12:01 ET
LAS VEGAS, NV, USA, March 5 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Seaport Entertainment Group, Inc, is pleased to announce that it has acquired full and majority ownership stakes in both the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). This investment in two of Wrestlings most revered organisations cements Seaport Entertainment Groups presence in the world of Professional Wrestling.

The ultimate goal for Seaport Entertainment Group is to create a brand new wrestling promotion, combining the great talents in both NWA and NJPW. This promotion will be called 'New World Pro-Wrestling' (NWPW) and will continue the linage of the strong-style puroresu with a sense of realism and sports presentation.

The full breakdown of the board of directors of New World Pro-Wrestling are as seen below;

• PRESIDENT - Matthew Manson
• EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - Anton Nikodemus
• EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - Bill Ackman
• EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - David O'Reilly
• DIRECTOR - Takaaki Kidani
• DIRECTOR - Harold Meij

'Today marks an exciting new chapter in the world of Professional Wrestling. With the acquisition and amalgamation of both NWA and NJPW, New World Pro-Wrestling has an incredible platform to create a true alternative pro-wrestling product that can continue in the mould of legendary puroesu organisations of years past . We believe the market is still there for a sports based, realistic product and that is our goal and in 2026 it will become a reality. I would like to personally thank SEG, Pershing Capital Management and Howard Hughes Holdings for there expertize, experience, belief and assistance in all of the major transactions that took place that made this all possible. Without them, none of this would have happened. Over the coming weeks and months you will hear more about our proposals for the organisation ' said Matthew Manson, Co-Founder and President of New World Pro-Wrestling.

For Media Inquiries:
Seaport Entertainment Group
SOURCE Seaport Entertainment Group

 

[PWC2017]

Getting Down to Business​

The next day on March 6th 2025, Manson got to the office in downtown Las Vegas around 7.30am. He knew he needed to work fast to start getting the ball rolling creating the ground work for what New World Pro-Wrestling would look like. The Japanese side of the operation was in place to a degree, but just needed tweaks here and there before the big changes would take place. One of the big things Manson didn't understand was why the NJPW TV camera wasn't facing the crowd for major events and was centred on the 'stage' area. The first thing Manson asked was for this to change and for the hard camera to be on the usual side facing the crowd.

Two people Manson had conversations about coming on board to assist in managing the 'Western' side of the business was Cary Silkin and Shane McMahon. Silkin was someone who understood what Manson was trying to do seeing as he was the owner of Ring of Honor from 2004 to 2011, an organisation with a clear philosophy when it comes to a more realistic style of pro-wrestling. McMahon needed no introduction. Manson saw McMahon as a 'Dana White' style face of the NWA Governing body. The sort of person who would be a good hand at Press Conferences, Interviews, selling events etc. A legitimate person to come on board and make people sit up and take notice.

Conversations with both had progressed well since the start of 2025 and Manson especially felt like Silkin would be perfect to get a lot of what was needed 'right' as the experience of running a promotion would be massively beneficial with such a blank canvas of the Western side of the organisation. There really wasnt anything in place so all experience and knowledge was welcome.

On March 7th, Silkin agreed to join the organisation as 'Head match-maker'. Silkin would be the filter for all matches/angles/outcomes from all of the other weight class bookers and would be the head of all booking decisions for the the NWA side of the company. Silkin would be ever present at all events in North America and would start work soon after agreeing terms, arriving in Las Vegas in late April 2025.

During these discussions with Silkin and McMahon, Manson went over the initial outline of what he wanted New World Pro-Wrestling to be. With two, 2 hour live events each week in the West and two, 2 hour live events in Asia, Manson believed they would be able to create a fascinating, all encompassing 'Universe' of a realistic presentation of pro-wrestling with multiple weight classes in both the NWA and IWGP mirrored across both sides of the World. World titles in both NWA and IWGP. Angles would be created through wins and losses, tournaments with simplicity the order of the day rather than trying to create something confusing and overthink things. It didn't need to be. Make it simple, make it clear, make it real. Make it make sense. That was the idea.

Things were starting to take place and in April 2025 the broadcasting deal would be announced to the world.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

I'm really looking forward this every time you do a new one. Well done on the BTB posts , really damn good

 

[PWC2017]

Getting Down to Business - 2​

Manson and the board had sat down in late March to go over the first appointments to the day to day backroom staff. Shane McMahon was a major discussion point. The board were interested to know what Manson felt about any potential issues regarding the tainted McMahon name and having someone so connected to Vince McMahon and if he believed this could cause any major negative publicity straight off the bat. Manson understood the concerns but felt that Shane, as far as he was aware has no connection at all to the alleged offences and had already had talks regarding what would happen if the topic was raised. Shane agreed that he would distance himself from his fathers historic allegations and make clear, that he himself is his own person with his own life and family and has never been involved in anything like what has been alleged.

Manson felt that was good enough and that Shane should not be ostracised due to other peoples past behaviours. The board agreed and an offer was made for Shane McMahon to come on board as 'Head of Operations'.

Another person Manson had spoken to briefly about a role with the company was Lance Storm. Manson believed Storm was the right profile of character to implement the ideas and creative aspect of what Manson wanted from New World Pro-Wrestling. Another idea Manson had was 'Dojo style' training venues around North America and Europe that Storm could manage. The first plan was to repackage Storms wrestling school as the first 'New World-Dojo' where young wrestlers wanting to learn the strong style version of the sport could be trained.

Storm agreed terms to his deal and came to Las Vegas in early April 2025 to sign contracts and meet Manson, Silkin and continue to go over what his day to day roles and responsibilities. Manson also wanted Storm to be a booker/matchmaker for one of the new weight classes. The middleweight division made sense for Storm as it would be seen as the more technical division. This would mean Storm, alongside Silkin would be at all events starting in January 2026.

It was around this time when the outlines for the various weight classes were drawn up. Manson had originally wanted 4 Male weight classes, 2 women weight classes and 2 tag team weight classes for both genders. After conversations with Silkin, the 4 weight classes for Males was moved down to 3. The initial outlined example for the male divisions would be;

Male

• Heavyweight - 220lbs -
• Middleweight - 190lbs - 220lbs
• Lightweight - up to 190lbs

Male Tag

• Super Heavyweight - 450lbs -
• Super Lightweight - up to 450lbs

All divisions would have world titles. Manson believed that over time if this was replicated in both the NWA and IWGP, there would be enough scope each week for interesting matches and title eliminators / tournaments to garner real interest across the wrestling fandom. All of the belts/titles would make sense and have real reasons for been there. As Manson had stated from the start, make it make sense. Thats what he wanted.

 

[PWC2017]

Getting Down to Business - 3​

Now that Seaport had control over the NWA and NJPW, the next plan of action was tying down contracts for both the wrestlers as well as commentary team so that both sides of the company were set up for the January 2026 start.

Manson really liked Mauro Ranello and had initial discussions in March 2025. Manson had also sat down in person in Tampa Bay with Mike Tenay. Manson felt like a team of Ranello and Tenay with one other each week would bring a real classy and experienced commentary team that would have a good understanding on what was required to explain the sports based realism each week.

Another person Manson wanted was iconic Boxing MC Jimmy Lennon Jr. Lennons classy delivery before big boxing main events was something Manson wanted for the big NWA / IWGP World Title matches. Lennon would cost a lot but Manson felt his aura and all round name would be worth the outlay.

Negotiations for all three went well and terms were agreed in due course. Things were starting to take shape. Next on the agenda was tying down NJPW wrestlers to long term contracts and seeing what wrestlers that were been used on AEW TV could be still be under the NJPW umbrella. Manson knew that Gabe Kidd was one who was under contact and would be pulled from AEW immediately. Zach Sabre Jr was another still under contact with NJPW. Negotiations with the majority of 'Gaijin' wrestlers started and most accepted new contacts and bullet points advising what the new plan would be from 2026 onwards. Most would be involved in the NWA side of operations and would be advised to relocate to the Nevada / California area in 2026.

Most of March and April 2025 was adding to the backroom staff and typing up new contacts for wrestlers and staff already under contract. Manson thankfully, had moved away from Project 26 and passed the reigns back to Don Garber and Paul McDonough. Most of the league implementation work had been completed and the idea was always to assist Garber and McDonough for a few months before slowly moving away. It allowed Manson to focus solely on New World Pro-Wrestling as well as Atletico Las Vegas. It allowed him more time in Las Vegas with his new wife and new house, newly bought in the Southern Highlands after there wedding in May 2024.

In a short amount of time, New World Pro-Wrestling was starting to really take shape. A new logo was due to be announced as well as all social media handles and a wikipedia page. Things were moving.

 

[PWC2017]

Amazon Prime & New World Pro-Wrestling (NWPW) announce multi year broadcast and media rights deal.

News provided by
Seaport Entertainment Group, Inc
Apr 22, 2025, 16:00 ET

LAS VEGAS, NV, USA, April 22 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Amazon Prime & New World Pro-Wrestling to Establish New Era of Professional Wrestling with Multi-Year, Multi-Platform Media Rights deal.

• Amazon Prime to air four live weekly events starting January 2026.
• Amazon Prime PPV to broadcast monthly PPVs starting with WrestleKingom, live from the Tokyo Dome, January 2026.
• Deal runs from January 2026 to January 2031

New World Pro-Wrestling to Introduce a sports based, realistic presentation of Pro-Wrestling and Give fans a new wrestling experience for the First Time in 20 Years.

Amazon Prime announced today that it is partnering with New World Pro-Wrestling, the new professional wrestling promotion that will feature a world-class roster of diverse male and female wrestlers, giving fans a new and alternative wrestling experience for the first time in a generation. Amazon Prime and New World Pro-Wrestling together will build this powerhouse sporting organisation from the ground up and will begin airing weekly events starting in January 2026. With this promotion, NWPW is introducing a new generation of wrestlers to fans, offering sports based, gripping and authentic athletic matches that will make wrestling more accessible to a broad audience. Amazon Prime will utilize its position as a next-generation global media company to build this league into a global pro-wrestling franchise.

Founded by President Matthew Manson, NWPW will be headlined by an modern line-up of wrestlers like Hirooki Goto, Gabe Kidd, Zach Sabre Jr, Sareee and AZM. Mauro Ranallo, Mike Tenay and Chris Charlton will be the voice of NWPW and you will even hear the iconic voice of the great Jimmy Lennon Jr as MC for PPV World Title Main Events.

Later this year, Amazon Prime will provide exclusive access for fans worldwide to watch New World Pro-Wrestling events, airing live weekly events in North America and Japan in prime time, as well as pay-per-view on Amazon Prime PPV. A leading digital sports enterprise, Amazon Primes high fan engagement will provide an invaluable opportunity to build the New World Pro-Wrestling audience.

“New World Pro-Wrestling will be a strong style league whose sports realistic approach to creating high-quality athletic wrestling competitions is already making waves with fans and attracting top-tier wrestlers,” said Marie Donoghue, VP, U.S. sports content & partnerships, Amazon. “It will be high-adrenaline, gripping entertainment and we can’t wait to bring it to fans everywhere with this game-changing new business.”

“Wrestling fans have always wanted – and needed – something different, authentic and better for far too long. That time is now with the birth of New World Pro-Wrestling we now have the sports based, realistic presentation of professional wresting. We cannot wait to get started” said Matthew Manson, President of New World Pro-Wrestling.

Focused on producing fast-paced, high-impact competitions, NWPW will offer fans less scripted, soapy drama, and more of a strong style athleticism and real sports analytics, bringing a legitimacy to wrestling that it has not previously had. Wrestlers will also be given more freedom to explore there inner character and highlight their athletic abilities. Introducing statistics to wrestling for the first time ever, NWPW will raise the stakes for its matches and deepen fan engagement by tracking each competitor’s wins and losses as the wrestlers pursue championships, analyzing their moves, assessing damage to their opponents, and providing insights into their winning streaks.

In the coming weeks and months, more information about the first event, WrestleKingdom live from the Tokyo Dome on Amazon Prime PPV January 2026 will be announced.

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