Rumor Killer On Possible AEW - NJPW Partnership

By Sai Mohan

On this week's edition of AEW Dynamite, there were several mentions of NJPW.

As seen in the video above, a promo package hyping up the upcoming Jon Moxley vs. Lance Archer AEW World Championship match featured highlights of their Texas Deathmatch from NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 14. Furthermore, Hiroshi Tanahashi stood in front of a NJPW banner to congratulate Chris Jericho on his 30-year anniversary in the pro wrestling business. Also, Excalibur namedropped New Japan and its head booker, Gedo, while on commentary.

When a fan on Twitter wondered if AEW airing a video of Tanahashi is a sign of things to come, Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer noted that wrestling fans should not read too much into the developments.

"Not necessarily, that was Jericho's doing. He loves Tanahashi. Ultimo Dragon was on as well," he tweeted.

AEW and NJPW have reportedly had an icy relationship since AEW was established in 2019. However, there is speculation that the relationship might improve in the aftermath of NJPW President and CEO Harold Meij's exit. AEW President Tony Khan was also quoted as saying in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Meij's departure could spell good things for the two companies, "I'm not sure yet. But my initial gut feeling is it could be good."

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