Following the announcement that Cody and the Young Bucks would be starting their own wrestling promotion called All Elite Wrestling, many assumed that, given their links to NJPW and Ring of Honor, that the three promotions would work together.
In fact, following the Wrestle Kingdom 13 show on Friday (January 4), officials from the three promotions held a meeting, supposedly in order to discuss the possibility of working together and allowing their talent to wrestle for different brands.
However, Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio (WOR) that for the time being at least, NJPW is not planning on working with AEW, meaning AEW stars will not be able to wrestle for the Japanese promotion.
He reports that AEW were very keen on having a working relationship with New Japan, but that any negotiation has, for the time being, been unsuccessful.
News broke yesterday that Kenny Omega, who lost his IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 13, is to leave NJPW, and Meltzer speculated that this is because of the lack of willingness to work with Cody and the Young Bucks on the part of NJPW.
Meltzer said losing Omega “really hurts the international feel of New Japan,” adding that Omega, along with Kazuchika Okada, is probably the most valuable asset NJPW had prior to his imminent departure.
As for Ring of Honor, Dave explained that due to the fact that AEW will be in direct competition with ROH, they are also not going to be working together for the time being.
Finally, he said that this news could be a blow to fans who thought the creation of AEW would allow for even more big-time matches, as many assumed there would be a friendly, working relationship between AEW, NJPW and Ring of Honor.
