Kevin Kelly on Historic X-Over Joint Event, Wanting to Bring English Commentary to STARDOM

– NJPW English broadcaster Kevin Kelly joined the NJPW Bread Club this week, and he discussed the upcoming NJPW x STARDOM Historic X-Over event scheduled for November. Below are some highlights (via Fightful):

Kevin Kelly on Historic X-Over: “Calling that STARDOM show is so important to me because it’s history and it’s the start of something. It’s the crowning of the first-ever IWGP Women’s Champion. All of their hard work, the individual athletes in STARDOM, coming to this big stage in this brand new arena that we assume is as close to full as we can get. We need to be there to call it because it is history.”

On wanting to provide English commentary for STARDOM events: “The hope is, is that there’s enough interest in the STARDOM crossover show that we can start to provide English commentary for STARDOM events on a go-forward basis, which we’ve been fighting for, for a while. I think STARDOM is in a position to get a US television deal faster than New Japan because it is so different and amazing and there is a demand for women’s wrestling on television. The best women’s wrestlers in the world are not featured on television. That’s STARDOM. No disrespect to anybody, from Toni Storm to Jamie Hayter and all the other top girls in AEW, they’ve all been through STARDOM. That’s where the best wrestling talent is for women. The system works. That’s the reason why I see them getting a deal first.”

On who he’d want to broadcast with for STARDOM: “I want to have a woman’s voice on it. I think it would be Chris (Chalton) and me for some of it and me and someone else for some of it. I think that would be the best way to handle it. It would be depending on what the fans want. STARDOM and Bushiroad investing money into it. That’s why there needs to be a great deal of viewership on November 20 so we can turn around and go, ‘Here are the numbers, look at how many people are there. Look at the response they got in New York. Listen to what your fans are telling you.’ It would only help the brand grow.”

Historic X-Over is scheduled for November 20 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo. The event will feature NJPW and STARDOM matches, mixed tag team matches with competitors from both promotions, and the crowning of the inaugural IWGP Women’s Champion.