New Japan Pro Wrestling talent Rocky Romero shared his thoughts on WWE contacting NJPW about a partnership earlier this year.
Romero appeared on the Battleground Podcast, where he discussed WWE interaction with NJPW. He revealed that WWE did try to work with NJPW with Bryan Danielson’s involvement. However, All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan got involved by signing Danielson and has a working relationship with NJPW. Romero also shared that WWE does talk to NJPW once in a while.
“…I can say that definitely, they(WWE) reached out. Definitely, WWE reached out, as they do every x amount of years, said Romero. He continued, “Obviously, like Danielson being in the middle of that was no secret, and it was no secret to Tony either or AEW.” Romero also added that he doesn’t believe a deal would’ve happened.
WWE Discussions with NJPW
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Dave Meltzer reported in May that WWE had negotiated with NJPW. He shared that Danielson was a part of the early talks between WWE and NJPW, but NXT was also involved in the negotiations.
“The deal talked about would have been more likely be NXT focused and would have things beneficial for both sides, and it’s not like WWE is going to buy New Japan or bring in Kazuchika Okada to job for Randy Orton or all the crazy speculation from the past week,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
WWE wanted to keep Danielson in the company with the talks with NJPW helping to re-sign him. However, he left WWE for All Elite Wrestling on September 5th.
Rocky Romero on AEW Partnership with NJPW
Romero believes that AEW is a good partnership for NJPW. Several NJPW talent like himself has appeared on NJPW this year. Romero thinks AEW has a better understanding of NJPW than WWE and that wrestlers leaving NJPW helped build AEW.
“…New Japan wrestlers kind of leaving New Japan helped to start AEW, said Romero. He continued, So there has always been that cross-over connection, so it just seems to make sense in the grand scheme of things to now both companies working together.”
AEW fans are anticipating more big-name NJPW talent to appear at an AEW event. However, Romero thinks you won’t see the likes of Kazuchika Okada appearing in AEW soon, as he thinks both companies are making long-term bookings with cross-promotion plans. Khan also had teased that more talent from NJPW may appear on AEW in the future.
While other people have spoken out about WWE negotiations with NJPW, WWE hasn’t released a statement. It’s unclear if WWE is still trying to reach out to NJPW.
