If Karl Anderson doesn’t show up and defend his NEVER Openweight Championship at NJPW Battle Autumn, he’ll be stripped of the title.
In recent days, there has been a back and forth between NJPW and Anderson, after the latter was double booked to defend his title against Hikuleo. On the same day as NJPW Battle Autumn, Anderson will be working the WWE Crown Jewel pay-per-view event that is around 16 hours away. It should be noted that Anderson’s booking with NJPW was put in place well before his return to WWE, and it appears he’s no longer going to honor the commitment.
New Japan Pro Wrestling sent out the following statement on Tuesday night, saying that Anderson did originally approve of the booking and they’ve tried to negotiate with him without receiving a response.
You can check out the official announcement below:
“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 apologises to fans for any disappointment or inconvenience caused by this matter.”
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