AEW And NJPW's Wrestle Dynasty Event Reportedly Hampered By WBD

Several AEW stars packed their bags for the trans-Atlantic flight to Japan for NJPW's massive two-night Tokyo Dome event: Wrestle Kingdom and Wrestle Dynasty. Since its inception, AEW has been keen to send its stars to represent the brand before Japanese audiences, with some even bringing NJPW gold back to the States with them. But there was a curious lack of marketing for Wrestle Kingdom/Dynasty on AEW's end, noteworthy because Kenny Omega, one of their biggest stars, returned to action after more than a year. 

On "Wrestling Observer Radio," wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer said the reason for the lack of buildup boiled down to AEW's new agreement with Warner Brothers-Discovery, and Max, its new home for streaming. Meltzer speculated that WBD discouraged the promotion because it could potentially drive traffic to outside streaming services like NJPWWorld.com or TrillerTV.  "There was a reason. ... [but] it was really weird," Meltzer said of AEW's muted approach. "Especially because it started literally the moment [January 4's 'Collision'] ended."

While it may have made sense on WBD's end, it still felt unusual for AEW not to promote Omega's big return. Though his comeback received occasional mentions, Omega's star power seemed to merit a stronger marketing push. Meltzer suggested Wrestle Dynasty/Kingdom may get more mention in the aftermath, especially since EVPs The Young Bucks won the IWGP Tag Team Championship in a three-way match. However, there's no clear timetable for Omega or the Bucks to return to AEW television. "They gotta show footage of Kenny Omega," Meltzer said. "They gotta bring up the Young Bucks winning the tag team titles." Further muddying the AEW/NJPW relationship was NJPW commentator Chris Charlton's anti-AEW remarks during the event, which resulted in a suspension.