AEW and NJPW have had a working relationship for years, with stars appearing in each promotions on various occasions and an annual cross-promotional pay-per-view, AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. Earlier this yr, NJPW got here under latest ownership when Bushiroad Inc. sold all its shares to TV Asahi. Throughout the media call ahead of this yr’s Forbidden Door, Tony Khan addressed the sale and what it means for AEW’s relationship with the promotion going forward.
“It’s definitely something to regulate, and it has not modified any of the day-to-day work with Recent Japan Pro Wrestling. Hiroshi Tanahashi – the president of Recent Japan Pro Wrestling – and Gedo are people I proceed to work with,” he said. Khan asserted that he’s been working with the identical people each before and after the sale.
Khan further praised the brand new ownership for the way they have been promoting NJPW over the past yr, and he’s relieved they have not removed Gedo and Hiroshi Tanahashi from leadership. Currently, several AEW talent are within the championship scene over in NJPW. Mistico is one-half of the present IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, Konosuke Takeshita reigning because the NJPW World Television Champion, Will Ospreay is a NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion, and Alex Windsor is reigning as the present Strong Women’s Champion.
Considering that so many AEW names have gold in NJPW and much more proceed to compete within the promotion, it appears Khan’s words hold some merit, and the connection between the 2 promotions seems to have modified little under the brand new parent company.
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