Backstage News On AEW's Potential Involvement In NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom
Ever since AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door concluded back on June 26, fans have been wondering what the next step would be regarding the partnership between the two promotions. In particular, some have wondered if fans could see several AEW stars make the trek for an AEW & NJPW supershow in Japan or even just a big New Japan show. That answer appears to be yes.
On this morning's Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer answered a mailbag question regarding whether fans should expect to see AEW stars on Wrestle Kingdom 17 this January. "Yes," Meltzer said. "I don't know how many, but I have in fact been told of certain plans for AEW wrestlers on Wrestle Kingdom. AEW's got enough guys that they could lose five or six guys even, even a lot of their top guys, and they can still do a show."
Meltzer didn't provide any names of AEW talent that were in the plans for Wrestle Kingdom, though one could safely assume that FTR — who currently hold the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships — would be featured on the show. Other likely candidates include former New Japan talent such as Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, Jon Moxley, and current G1 participant Lance Archer, as well as Bryan Danielson, who has long expressed his desire to work a New Japan show or the G1 Climax tournament.
Wrestle Kingdom is slated to take place the same night AEW Rampage is taped
As Dave Meltzer alluded, Wrestle Kingdom, which always takes place on January 4, will fall on a Wednesday, the same day that "AEW Dynamite" airs and "AEW Rampage" is taped. This would mean several members of AEW's talent pool could be missing the promotion's flagship shows in order to work New Japan's equivalent to WrestleMania. It's unknown at this time whether AEW would instead choose to tape "Dynamite" or "Rampage" a week prior in order to have all its talent available.
In the meantime, crossover remains between AEW and New Japan in the form IWGP US Champion Will Ospreay. Along with United Empire teammates Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis, Ospreay will take part in the AEW Trios Championship tournament, taking on Death Triangle (Pac, Penta El Zero Miedo, and Rey Fenix) on next week's episode of "Dynamite."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Wrestling Observer Radio and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.