Jushin "Thunder" Liger To Make WWE Debut At NXT Takeover Brooklyn
Japanese wrestling legend to wrestle Tyler Breeze at the NXT Takeover Brooklyn on Aug 22.
Jushin "Thunder" Liger will be wrestling his first match for WWE at the NXT Takeover Brooklyn event on Saturday August 22 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The announcement was made during Thursday's NXT tapings by General Manager William Regal. The Japanese wrestling legend will be in a match against Tyler Breeze. It's a very surprising announcement because the 50 year old Liger has never worked for WWE before and there was no indication that he would. There's no word on if Liger is only working one date or if there are other plans for him, but it does appear to be a one night only thing for now. It was noted by Dave Meltzer of WrestlingObserver.com that it's a major political move by New Japan Pro Wrestling because other NJPW stars like Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada and Kushida are all working a Ring of Honor event that same night in Brooklyn. Meltzer notes that there are other significant behind the scenes moves by NXT and ROH that don't involve New Japan, but he didn't go into further details. While Liger is a legend that is well known, it would be even better if WWE were able to work out a deal with New Japan where they were able to bring in wrestlers in their prime like Nakamura, Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi, who are among the best wrestlers in the world. https://twitter.com/TripleH/status/621872227626188800 It's likely that WWE is bringing in Liger because they want to grow in the Japanese market. Since Hideo Itami is injured, getting a legend that can still work like Liger is a huge move by WWE. The NXT brand continues to surprise in good ways as NXT Takeover Brooklyn looks like another can't miss type of event.