Backstage Details On ‘Very Unusual’ Show Featuring WWE & AEW Stars

WWE/AEW

NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 17 takes place on January 4 at Tokyo Dome and will feature current AEW and WWE stars in a “very unusual” arrangement.

With news that WWE’s Karl Anderson is set to wrestle at the January 2023 event, Dave Meltzer has provided some more insight into the arrangements.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer said:

“(Wrestle Kingdom) is gonna be really interesting because you’re gonna have Sasha Banks, former WWE, who’s a big star, you’re gonna have Karl Anderson, current WWE, you’re gonna have Kenny Omega and FTR, current AEW – all on the same stage.

“That is very unusual and I wouldn’t have thought that would be something that could happen, but they did it in the sense that Karl Anderson did have booking plans.”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

Further exploring the arrangement between Anderson and NJPW, Meltzer stated:

“New Japan plans are booked far, far, far in advance and they hate to change it.

“Sometimes they have to but they hate doing that.

“And he was figured into their plans, and when he left for WWE, he wanted to at least continue through the Tokyo Dome (Wrestle Kingdom), or continue his booking plans and not burn the bridge that he had promised them.

“So he was allowed to do that.”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

Meltzer suggested that things could have been different if there hadn’t been the regime change at WWE, concluding:

“With Vince I doubt this would have happened, because Vince was not gonna let Nakamura do the January 1 show either against Great Muta, and once Vince was gone, NOAH was able to make that deal.”

“So WWE actually has talent on January 1 for NOAH and January 4 for New Japan.”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

The NEVER Openweight Champion, Anderson is scheduled to face Hikuleo in Sendai Sunplaza Hall, Miyagi, Japan on December 14, 2022.

Both of our finals are now set!

Kazuchika Okada to confront Jay White!

Hikuleo finally gets his shot at Karl Anderson's NEVER title!

It's all coming up LIVE IN ENGLISH Wednesday on @njpwworld!https://t.co/cEFFsYKcrQ#njwtl #njsjtl #njpw pic.twitter.com/M2SwS1UFMs

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) December 11, 2022

This is a match that had previously been scheduled for November 5, however, Anderson was booked for WWE Crown Jewel.

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• Wrestle Kingdom
• NJPW
• AEW
• wwe

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