10 Times WWE Actually Worked With Other Companies

9. NJPW - NXT Brings The Thunder

Christian TNA
WWE.com

What a delightfully unexpected surprise it was when news broke that Japanese wrestling legend Jushin Thunder Liger had signed on to work a match against Tyler Breeze at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.

It was just another act of glorious fan service from a brand that had mastered the art at the time, but it also brought forth the possibility that NJPW and WWE could and would work together on a longer-term basis. The Liger news came within days of then-NXT Champion Finn Bálor going out of his way to be complimentary to New Japan for his experiences, while Dave Meltzer spoke of how potentially significant this possible working relationship was.

Oddly, it amounted to...just this. That's not to say the Brooklyn opener wasn't a total blast, or that it wasn't a bit of a giddy thrill getting to see Liger work once for the globally accepted industry leader, but several of the mooted inter-promotional dream matches that sparked up from the news sadly never came to pass.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett