NJPW Owner Takaaki Kidani Has One 'Regret' Following Wrestle Dynasty Event With AEW

On January 5, the first-ever Wrestle Dynasty pay-per-view featured wrestlers from AEW and NJPW, as well as a few stars from Mexico's CMLL, competing against each other. While the show delivered some exceptional wrestling, NJPW owner Takaaki Kidani feels that it would have been better to host the show a day earlier, alongside NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 19.

In an interview with "Tokyo Sports" post the show, Kidani expressed how the show didn't have a sense of being a co-branded event, stating that the outcome felt half-hearted.

"Maybe it would have been better to do it on January 4th, when they were separated. In terms of reflection, I think we weren't able to get the feel of a joint event, nor of a rivalry, so it ended half-heartedly. That's something I regret," said Kidani. [The quote has been roughly translated from Japanese]

Wrestle Kingdom, NJPW's biggest pay-per-view of the year is usually held on January 4, with this year's event once again held on that date. The show emanated from the Tokyo Dome, the same venue as the inaugural Wrestle Dynasty pay-per-view.

Wrestle Dynasty saw most of AEW and NJPW's biggest stars compete at the event, and the show also saw the long-awaited return of Kenny Omega, who wrestled his first match in over 13 months, defeating Gabe Kidd. Mercedes Moné became a triple champion at the show after she defeated Mina Shirakawa to become RevPro Undisputed British Women's Championship, adding to her AEW TBS Championship and NJPW Strong Women's Championship. The Young Bucks, meanwhile, became two-time IWGP Tag Team Champions, while Zack Sabre Jr. retained the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of the show after getting the better of AEW's Ricochet.

Following Wrestle Dynasty, AEW will now switch their attention to Grand Slam Australia, their next pay-per-view which will be held on February 15, while NJPW will be moving stateside for Battle in the Valley on January 11.