NJPW haven't historically worked together to make marquee matches happen, but that is all changing for Wrestle Kingdom 17. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows reemerged in WWE to aid AJ Styles in his feud against The Judgment Day in mid-October. This perceived defection caused friction with some New Japan Wrestling fans, as the Crown Jewel live event forced Anderson to miss a scheduled title defense for NJPW at Battle Autumn. The Japanese wrestling promotion generally strips champions who fail to appear at d events, but that didn't end up happening with Anderson. A recent report might shed some light on why, exactly, NJPW made a special case for Anderson.
Mike Johnson of WWE superstar. "PWInsider.com has learned from multiple sources that WWE and New Japan have come to on an agreement for Anderson to wrestle on the 1/4/23 Wrestle Kingdom event at the Tokyo Dome, making him the first-ever contracted WWE talent to work NJPW's biggest event of the year." Johnson notes that Anderson had long figured into NJPW's plans for Wrestle Kingdom 17, seeming to imply that WWE and NJPW worked out an agreement before The OC returned to North America.
Is The Forbidden Door Between WWE & NJPW Creaking Open?
This is a natural question to ask in light of Johnson's reporting. As he wrote, this will be the first time a contracted WWE wrestler works NJPW's version of WrestleMania. It could be a one-off, and no evidence indicates that it won't be. However, the phone line between WWE and NJPW had to be open at some point to make Anderson's return to Japan possible. Could that lay the groundwork for the two companies to work together in some capacity moving forward? There are a few things to consider here.
WWE's desire to branch out into markets outside of North America is well-documented at this point. The company wants to make inroads in India and Europe, and back in December, there were some rumblings that WWE was eyeballing independent Japanese promotions as well. If WWE is trying to get its wrestlers in front of audiences in Japan, NJPW would be the easiest way to do so. Likewise, before the pandemic and global shutdown, New Japan was attempting to gain a foothold in North America. If the promotion wanted to familiarize audiences in the United States with Okada or Jay White, matches in WWE would be the most straightforward way to accomplish that.
Perhaps NJPW and WWE working together for more matches is still a pipe dream, but Anderson being allowed to wrestle at Wrestle Kingdom 17 can't be ignored. These one-offs can snowball into much more significant events, and have recently. Consider Chris Jericho's impact when he bolted to NJPW to wrestle Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12. It could be argued that AEW never happens without Alpha Vs. Omega happening at the Tokyo Dome. Anderson isn't Jericho or Omega, but he could be the harbinger of bigger things to come between WWE and NJPW.
Source: PWInsider.com