In an official statement, New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced that Karl Anderson will be forced to vacate the NEVER Openweight Championship if he does not honor his scheduled appearance at the Battle Autumn event on November 5.
Anderson is set to defend the title against Hikuleo at the event. His status for the show has been surrounded by uncertainty since he and Doc Gallows returned to WWE on the October 10 episode of WWE RAW. The situation became even more unclear when Anderson and Gallows were announced for WWE Crown Jewel on November 5; they will team up with AJ Styles to face Damian Priest, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio at the event.
Despite this overlap with Battle Autumn, NJPW has continued to advertise him for the show. Anderson and Gallows posted a video in which they announced that they “ain’t comin'” to Battle Autumn. NJPW president Takami Ohbari recently tweeted that all talent is expected to honor their scheduled commitments. Now, in a statement, the company has further addressed the situation by announcing that its attempts to negotiate with Anderson have been fruitless, and if he does not compete at Battle Autumn on November 5, he will be forced to vacate the title.
The statement, courtesy of NJPW’s website, is as follows:
Thank you for supporting New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Early morning Japan time on October 20, NEVER Openweight Champion Karl Anderson posted a video on social media indicating that he would not be making his advertised commitment on November 5 in Osaka.
NJPW had announced Anderson’s match with Hikuleo for the NEVER Openweight Championship on October 4. Despite comments from Doc Gallows to the contrary in Anderson’s video, the booking was made through the appropriate channels, and with Anderson’s expressed approval.
However, after the match’s announcement, both Gallows and Anderson would appear on the October 10 edition of WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” broadcast. This led to WWE announcing a match featuring both men for their Saudi Arabia event on November 5, in direct conflict with Anderson’s prior commitment.
NJPW has for the past several days attempted to negotiate with Anderson, but has not been met with a response. Should Anderson decide to renege on his scheduled championship match, he will be required to vacate the NEVER Openweight Championship and return the title belt to NJPW immediately.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling holds its champions to the highest standards of professionalism, and sincerely apologizes to fans for any disappointment or inconvenience caused by this matter.
WrestleZone will provide more information as it becomes available.
