WWE's AJ Styles To Appear At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17?

Could the Phenomenal One be returning to the Tokyo Dome next month?

by Andrew Pollard
AJ Styles NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17
WWE/NJPW

Could AJ Styles be at New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 17 next month? It's not been ruled out...

Speaking on the latest episode of The Sessions with Renee Paquette (via Wrestling Inc.), NJPW's Rocky Romero discussed how there will be "some surprises" at the Tokyo Dome in for WK17.

When specifically asked whether AJ Styles could be at Wrestle Kingdom along with his OC buddy Karl Anderson, Romero responded, "Anything is possible, Renee".

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Anderson is due to defend his NEVER Openweight Championship against Tama Tonga at Wrestle Kingdom 17, with Machine Gun having this month successfully retained that prize against Hikuleo. Now, Anderson and Tama - two founding members of Bullet Club - will do battle on 4 January for the Openweight Title.

Hyping up Wrestle Kingdom 17, Rocky noted:

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"This Tokyo Dome is gonna be insane. WWE Wrestler Karl Anderson, Kenny Omega - who's an AEW wrestler - we've got STARDOM wrestlers on the show."

When pressed by Paquette on whether those rumours of Sasha Banks appearing at WK17 are true, Romero added:

"I've heard a lot of rumours, but I cannot confirm nor deny at this moment. Fingers crossed. You never know what could happen. There will be some surprises at the Tokyo Dome."

In terms of Sasha, the belief is that the Boss will appear at Wrestle Kingdom to set up a match with KAIRI for the IWGP Women's Title down the line. Banks is believed to have struck some sort of deal with Bushiroad to work several dates for STARDOM in 2023.

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Whether AJ Styles does indeed appear at Wrestle Kingdom 17 remains to be seen, but the former IWGP World Champion would certainly be welcomed with open arms by those at the Tokyo Dome should the Phenomenal One be able to accompany Karl Anderson on that show.

Previously, it would've been an instant no-go for a WWE talent to appear for any other wrestling promotion, yet under the stewardship of Triple H that may not be as much of an issue - as reflected by Shinsuke Nakamura heading to Japan to face the Great Muta on New Year's Day.

 
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.