A new report has shed light on the future of Karl Anderson in NJPW after the NEVER Openweight Champion returned to WWE on Raw.
On Monday Night Raw Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows returned to WWE to side with their old partner AJ Styles in his ongoing battle with The Judgment Day. Anderson’s involvement raised eyebrows as he still holds New Japan Pro Wrestling’s NEVER Openweight Championship.
Following Raw, NJPW announced part of the card for an event in Osaka on November 5th – the same day as WWE Crown Jewel – in which Karl Anderson is scheduled to defend his title against Hikuelo.
Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio, that Karl Anderson is likely to return to NJPW to drop his NEVER Openweight Championship:
“So I guess [Anderson’s] gonna drop the championship, but he is coming back. […] They had the commitment [Anderson’s match against Hikuleo]. […] With Vince [McMahon] they didn’t want people going back [to former companies] but it wasn’t hard and fast, there were plenty of guys that got signed that were allowed to work out their notice if they insisted on it. I’m gonna guess that Anderson probably insisted on it because y’know, they gave him the championship, he’s left them before and it’s probably just good business.”
“Who knows? Maybe they’ll pull him but the way that it went down and the fact that they announced the card today [after Raw] that an agreement has been worked out and Anderson will drop the championship. I don’t know that they’d have him go back and forth for both groups but who knows?”