Karl Anderson‘s status for New Japan Pro-Wrestling‘s Battle Autumn event on November 5 has been surrounded by uncertainty in recent weeks, but a new update has shined some light on the situation.
Anderson, the reigning NEVER Openweight Champion, is scheduled to defend the title against Hikuleo at the show. However, he and Doc Gallows returned to WWE on the October 10 episode of WWE RAW. They have been featured on the program ever since, and they are set to team up with AJ Styles to face Finn Balor, Damian Priest, and Dominik Mysterio at WWE Crown Jewel, which will also be on November 5. NJPW has continued to advertise Anderson for the Battle Autumn show, but he posted a video on social media in which he stated that he won’t be coming. NJPW later issued an official statement and announced that Anderson will be stripped of the title if he doesn’t honor his scheduled appearance.
Now, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select cited sources that indicated that there still are plans for Anderson to wrestle for NJPW. A specific update regarding the title was not provided, though it was said that NJPW expects Anderson to work additional dates, and WWE was okay with this outcome.
Sapp noted that NJPW knew that Gallows and Anderson would be returning to WWE as early as August. According to sources familiar with the situation, “things are fine” between Anderson, NJPW, and WWE.
Not long before Sapp’s report, Anderson posted a tweet in which he stated that he’s not going to vacate the title; instead; he will defend it on his time.
I’m not vacating anything.
I’m the greatest #NeverOpenweightChampion of all time.
I’ll defend it on my time ….. get with my booking agent @The_BigLG
I’ll see ya then @Hiku_Leo ?
That’s #TooSweet https://t.co/EyN24ib9TD— Karl Anderson (@MachineGunKA) October 26, 2022
WrestleZone will provide more information as it becomes available.
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