WWE In Talks With NJPW For Partnership
Nick Khan attempts to slam the Forbidden Door shut.
In the sort of news story that takes one utterly aback before the realisation hits that it was absolutely inevitable, Dave Meltzer has reported the following in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
"In what could end up being among the biggest wrestling stories of the year, or a non-story, depending on the end result, Nick Khan has been in talks with New Japan Pro Wrestling about WWE being the exclusive American partner with the promotion. Obviously there are a million questions regarding such a deal if it was to happen, and there are no indications where talks are at past they date back to late March or early April."
What was happening in March or April?
AEW had opened the forbidden door to NJPW. KENTA was the first man to walk through it on February 3. This moment and this report must be related; this scans as a debilitating, spiteful move because those talks don't stretch back to, for example, September or October of last year.
The cynicism flares up further at the ridiculous suggestion that WWE might use this theoretical relationship to send its talent eastward for reps and the opportunity to learn a new style. WWE's multi-million dollar Performance Center facility exists because the former independent wrestlers that are stationed there - even those pushing 40 - must first learn the WWE playbook. That's why everybody not named AJ Styles, Mike Bennett or Reginald has debuted on NXT for the last however many years.
Are piledrivers banned on the co-promoted super-shows? Do non-native speakers join promo trains on RAW?
How can this possibly work, if it indeed happens?