Update On Christopher Daniels And Michael Nakazawa's AEW In-Ring Returns Following Suspensions
It appears AEW is ready to go full "AEW at Gamescom" for their appearances at the Tokyo Game Show this week. The promotion ran exhibition matches over at the Germany video game trade fair while promoting their upcoming game "AEW Fight Forever", and they will be carrying over that plan for their presentation at the Japanese video game convention. There are some appearances here that may raise an eyebrow.
Wednesday evening, while "AEW Dynamite" was airing on TBS, "Fight Forever" publisher THQNordic released further details on its presentation on Twitter, including the reveal that AEW talents Christopher Daniels, Michael Nakazawa, Riho, and Yuka Sakazaki, along with wrestlers Chris Brookes, Hagane Shinnoh, Hikari Noa, Konosuke Takeshita, Maki Itoh, and Yuki Ueno would be wrestling at the convention.
"We have an incredible lineup of talent performing at TGS 2022!" the tweet read. "THQ Nordic is hosting AEW Exhibition Matches on Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 1pm and 4pm JST. Visit us in Hall 6, Booth 6-S01!"
DDT And TJPW Talents To Perform For AEW
The participation of Daniels and Nakazawa confirms reports that the duo's respective suspensions for their involvement in the backstage fight after the All Out pay-per-view have been lifted, allowing them to resume working for AEW. It also seems to confirm that Kenny Omega, who is in Japan, remains in limbo with AEW, as he awaits any possible punishments for the brawl from the reported third-party investigation.
While several names will be familiar to AEW fans, including Itoh and Takeshita, the latter of whom greatly impressed fans during an excursion for the promotion earlier this year, this will be the first AEW appearances for Brookes, Shinnoh, Noa and Uneo. All four are associated with DDT and-or Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, two Japanese promotions AEW has partnered with. Brookes and Shinnoh also work for Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling, which is owned and run by AEW star Emi Sakura.
The AEW matches at the Tokyo Game Show will be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It's unknown if the matches will stream live, as they did at Gamescom.