Tony Khan will make another “huge announcement” this Wednesday on AEW Dynamite.
The last time that Khan promised such an announcement, he revealed that he had purchased ROH Wrestling.
Rumors have been running rampant since last week, and one possibility has since started to make the rounds.
AEW vs. NJPW Super Show
According to the Super J Cast, AEW is set to run a cross promotional show with New Japan Pro Wrestling on Thursday, June 23rd in Chicago. While some have speculated about this being a stadium show, sources I have spoken to about the possible event have denied the stadium rumors and believe that it will take place at the United Center. That week is indeed clear on the United Center’s calendar of events.
New Japan’s Dominion event takes place on June 12th, and the G1 Tournament will begin in July and run through August. This joint show would be sandwiched between that and may end up leading to some AEW involvement in the G1.
This would not be the first time AEW has run the United Center. The company sold out the venue last August for the second-ever edition of AEW Rampage with the tease that CM Punk would debut on the show (and he did). Even more amazing, that event sold out after the company already had three events (Dynamite, Rampage, and All Out) in the Chicago metro two weeks later booked and on sale to the public.
Other specifics of the show are not yet known, including how it would be covered for television or streaming, and the AEW/NJPW show might not even be the surprise that Khan reveals on Wednesday evening (that could be something else and the Chicago event might just be a straight reveal later on). A television/streaming deal for ROH is another possibility for Khan’s announcement.
June 23rd is the same night as the NBA Draft and one night after Dynamite airs live from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
AEW & NJPW Growing Closer In Recent Months
This would be the first time that AEW has officially co-promoted an event with another promotion, though they have worked with other organizations such as AAA, IMPACT, and of course NJPW itself over the last couple of years.
It was recently revealed that AEW Dynamite and AEW Rampage will start airing on the NJPW World streaming service soon (exclusively for Japanese users), so a co-promoted show between the two organizations seems to be in line with what we see happening from a business perspective.
NJPW held an event on Saturday night in Chicago dubbed “Windy City Riot.” Though an event with AEW was not announced, several AEW stars appeared on the show. Jon Moxley worked with Will Ospreay in the main event and called out Hiroshi Tanahashi for the NJPW show in Washington, D.C. on May 14th.
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