WWE News: WWE And New Japan Pro Wrestling Developing A Working Relationship
As you might have noticed, Jushin “Thunder” Liger made his first ever WWE appearance at WWE NXT Takeover: Brooklyn last weekend. He has a good match with Tyler Breeze to open a tremendous show. Many wondered if it would be the last we ever saw of Liger, and if he would ever be back with the WWE. Luckily, WWE was able to secure Liger for other NXT events at later dates. So we could see Liger pop up at any point.
He may not be the only former or current NJPW star that WWE could be bringing in. According to Cageside Seats, the relationship with WWE and NJPW is only growing. So we very well could see some NJPW stars end up in WWE NXT. Former two time IWGP Champion AJ Styles has mentioned in recent interviews that he would love to work with WWE if they gave him an offer that was worth taking.
He is happy with NJPW, but his deal with them does come up in December and WWE could very well offer him something worth taking then. WWE has expressed interest in signing him due to how well Samoa Joe has turned out. Styles is a massive name on the Indy scene, and since he could be considered a bigger star than Samoa Joe, it only makes sense to think that AJ would be a no brainer to sign. The issue is how well he would fit. If Styles was brought into WWE, would he be restricted to working exclusively with WWE or would he have more of an opening to work other Indy events?
Since he clearly is a big name with Indy fans, NXT fits the bill. Other NJPW stars do as well at the end of the day. Due to many of the NXT stars like Kevin Owens being called up, WWE will need to bring in stars to help NXT out. Styles is a big enough name to surely take the place of a guy like Finn Balor if he were to leave for the main roster.
Styles would not be the only person WWE would want however.
People like Kazuchika Okada would be huge for WWE, and due to his youth, WWE would want to keep him exclusively. Other top NJPW talent like Shinsuke Nakamura would be perfect for a position similar to Liger as well, where they could come in for big shows and events for NXT. The plan is to take NXT on the road similar to the main roster, but the only way to do this successfully is to have top names that people would flock to see. NJPW has names that can do that along with the people WWE will bring in from other parts of the world.
We shouldn’t be surprised if someone else from NJPW shows up in the coming months. The success of Liger means that WWE surely wants to continue it’s work with NJPW. Since they are not competition for WWE in America, NJPW makes the most sense to work with over the likes of Ring of Honor, which wouldn’t want to work with WWE the way WWE would like them to. This is why WWE is making a deal with WWN over them for example.
At the end of the day, how cool would it be for AJ Styles to walk in and challenge Finn Balor to a match on an NXT Takeover event? The battle of Bullet Club leaders would surely sell some WWE Network subscriptions. We will have to see if WWE can make such a thing happen, however. If WWE can manage to work a good deal out with NJPW, this and more possibilities are available. Really, the combinations are endless.
[IMG Credit: voicesofwrestling.com, theindynetwork.wordpress.com]
