The Business Relationship Between NJPW And AEW, Explained
Highlights
- AEW and NJPW have formed a strong business relationship since 2021, resulting in classic moments and two incredible pay-per-views.
- The partnership includes talent exchanges, with NJPW stars appearing on AEW programming and AEW stars winning titles in NJPW.
- The Forbidden Door events between AEW and NJPW have been highly anticipated and well-received by fans, delivering dream matches and becoming major events of the year.
Collaboration between professional wrestling companies is nothing new. There are numerous instances of companies collaborating in the past that have created some very special moments for all involved and all the fans who witness them. In the last few years, fans have witnessed numerous collaborations between AEW and NJPW. They are two of the biggest professional wrestling companies on the planet with two of the most talented rosters of all time. Since 2021, AEW and NJPW have had a strong business relationship with each other that has created classic moments for fans. In addition, the two have also produced two incredible pay-per-views with each other.
RELATED: How The Forbidden Partnership Between NJPW & TNA Was A Disaster From The Start
The Pandemic Brings AEW And NJPW Together
AEW has never shied away from working with other professional wrestling companies, with examples including their partnerships in the past with AAA, NWA, and Impact Wrestling. However, their partnership with NJPW has been the most notable. It began back in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It started in order to secure a match for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship between Jon Moxley, the reigning champion at the time, and KENTA. KENTA’s appearance in the company was something that truly shocked and excited fans, offering them a glimpse of the opening of the “forbidden door” in professional wrestling. Ever since then, AEW has continued to work together with NJPW to put on some truly incredible matches, moments, and events.
RELATED: 10 NJPW Matches Featuring Current AEW Wrestlers Fans Need To See
Talent Exchange Between AEW And NJPW
One key aspect of the relationship between NJPW and AEW is the exchange of talent between the two promotions. On The Pacific Rim Pro Wrestling Podcast (h/t Wrestling Inc), Tony Khan spoke about this part of partnership between the two companies. He said, “...New Japan makes their stars available to us in NJPW, and to Ring of Honor, which is great to bring that partnership with New Japan and Ring of Honor back because they have so much history together.”
AEW has seen a lot of NJPW talent appear on its programming, including names like Rocky Romero, Minoru Suzuki, Aussie Open, and more. Likewise, AEW stars have also appeared in NJPW and even won titles there. Kenny Omega won the IWGP United States Heavyweight Title at WrestleKingdom 17, and Willow Nightingale was the inaugural NJPW Strong Women’s Champion. As of this writing, Eddie Kingston is the reigning and defending NJPW Strong Openweight Champion. In addition, there are also many crossovers of different factions between NJPW and AEW, like Bullet Club and Chaos.
The Forbidden Door Between AEW & NJPW Is Opened
Another major part of AEW and NJPW’s collaboration have been the Forbidden Door events. Announced in 2022, the inaugural event between the two companies took place on June 26, 2022, at the United Center in Chicago. The show was highly anticipated by fans and the event completely delivered on them. It was praised by critics and fans. It featured bouts such as Jay White, Kazuchika Okada, Adam Cole, and “Hangman” Adam Page fighting for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title, and Jon Moxley facing Hiroshi Tanahashi for the Interim AEW World Title. While it was a great show, the second Forbidden Door delivered more of the dream matches that fans wanted to see the first time around.
RELATED: AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best
The second Forbidden Door show took place on June 25, 2023, at the Scotiabank Arena. It was a tremendous sequel to the previous year’s show in Chicago. Bryan Danielson faced Kazuchika Okada, Orange Cassidy faced Zack Sabre Jr, MJF took on Hiroshi Tanahashi, and more. The show delivered just like the last year’s did and was one of the biggest events of the year so far. It remains to be seen if the event will happen for a third year in a row. However, if it does and continues to bring the same consistency as the first two, it will yet again be a show of the year contender.
A Mutually Important Relationship Between AEW & NJPW
In the same interview as previously mentioned, Khan said, “Our strongest promotional partnership is New Japan Pro Wrestling.” In an interview with Reuters, Khan also spoke on the importance of AEW and NJPW’s partnership in regard to WWE’s merger with Endeavor. Kahn said, “I would believe the AEW, New Japan Pro Wrestling partnership is more imperative than ever before.” NJPW President Takami Ohbari further added to this opinion. He said, “It's really mutually beneficial in terms of the global expansion for New Japan and also for AEW.”
As AEW and NJPW continue to work together, there will undoubtedly be more incredible matches for fans to watch. It has been a tremendously beneficial partnership so far, with more of it yet to be seen in future collaborations between the two promotions.
