Rocky Romero Details Conversations With Triple H Over Karl Anderson Working NJPW Dates

Though his tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling is now completely over, Karl Anderson's recent run with the NEVER Openweight Championship was one of the most peculiar title reigns in recent memory. Signing with WWE while still holding the gold, Anderson continued to compete for NJPW sparingly leading up to his eventual loss to Tama Tonga on January 4 at Wrestle Kingdom 17. To do this, an agreement had to be made between NJPW and WWE, two companies with no active working relationship to speak of.

In a recent interview with "The Wrestling Perspective" podcast, NJPW star and talent liaison Rocky Romero spoke about what it was like forging a temporary deal with WWE. While it was initially understood by all parties involved that Anderson and Doc Gallows would finish out their dates with NJPW while becoming contracted with WWE, more delicate proceedings were necessary when The OC's scheduled appearances for each company clashed with one another. "They had just got signed, and they were put into a hot angle with Finn Balor and his group, so they obviously needed them," Romero explained. "They had to pull the card of, 'We just signed you, we need you for this show, but we'll make it up to New Japan.'"

Romero also had direct conversations with Paul "Triple H" Levesque, who, according to the NJPW star, was as helpful as he could be in the process. "He confirmed that they'd gladly make it up," Romero said. "He's so busy, just getting him on the phone or getting a text back to make sure we were all good, he'd make it work," noting that Levesque is probably the busiest person in the entire wrestling industry.