AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) have maintained a strong partnership for over five years, culminating in the popular AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view event, which has been hosted in the US, Canada, and the UK. However, this cooperation was not always established smoothly. Initially, there was no connection between the two promotions, as NJPW’s management was unhappy about The Elite departing in 2019, and former NJPW President Harold Meij saw little benefit in collaborating with AEW, given NJPW’s existing ties with CMLL and ROH. According to Dave Meltzer on “Wrestling Observer Radio,” AEW star Jon Moxley played a crucial role in forging the relationship during the pandemic.
Meltzer explained, “Jon’s the one responsible for the New Japan and AEW relationship back during the pandemic. Jon held the IWGP US title and was an AEW talent; there was no relationship at all before that. His involvement helped open the door, which later led to KENTA coming to AEW and the partnership truly developing.” Moxley won the IWGP United States Championship in his NJPW debut, just under two weeks after his AEW debut. Despite being stripped of the title initially due to travel issues in late 2019, he retained the belt after regaining it in early 2020, even though the pandemic prevented him from defending it in Japan that year. Chris Jericho also appeared for NJPW as AEW World Champion, although that was his last match with the company.
Please credit “Wrestling Observer Radio” for the quotes and Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Fan Take:
This revelation highlights how individual wrestlers can influence major cross-promotional partnerships, showcasing the power of talent beyond just in-ring performance. For fighting fans, this bodes well for future collaborative events, promising more dream matchups and a stronger global wrestling community.
Source: www.wrestlinginc.com
