NJPW Academy in Carson, California is closing its doors, the school announced Friday in a statement on Instagram. The decision follows New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s announcement hours earlier that NJPW of America will cease operations and enter liquidation.
The Academy tied its shutdown directly to the end of the American subsidiary. It thanked the wrestlers, coaches, guests and fans who came through the Carson building over the past eight years and asked them to keep supporting New Japan.
The building opened as the NJPW LA Dojo in March 2018 with Katsuyori Shibata as head trainer. The Academy’s statement says Shibata ran it through 2023 and passed down the Strong Style traditions of Antonio Inoki to Karl Fredericks, Clark Connors, Alex Coughlin, Gabe Kidd, Ren Narita, Kevin Knight, Yuya Uemura and The DKC.
It became NJPW Academy in March 2023, opening to established and aspiring wrestlers with KUSHIDA, Fred Rosser, The DKC and Rocky Romero as trainers. The statement says graduates have worked in nearly every major promotion worldwide, with Zane Jay joining the full-time NJPW roster in 2025 as the headline example.
The school was still running showcases this year. Steven Borden Jr., son of Sting, competed at its third anniversary show in March, and Rosser recently clarified that his NXT return was only a guest coaching stint.
Neither the Academy’s statement nor New Japan’s announcement says what happens to the coaches, current students or the Carson facility. New Japan did say North American events will continue with the “full backing and resources of the TV Asahi group.” Its last NJPW of America show was Resurgence in Ontario, California, in May 2025.
