Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks Address Speculation Over an AEW Partnership With New Japan

When All Elite Wrestling first launched in 2019, it seemed like the possibility of the company forming a partnership with New Japan seemed unlikely. Based on the comments some of the higher-ups (i.e. The Young Bucks) had made, it seemed like there were some hurt feelings over the large handful of American stars that left the Japanese promotion mere months before their sold-out event at Madison Square Garden. However speculation that some sort of deal would happen flared up this past week when Chris Jericho arrived at Wrestle Kingdom 14 wearing the AEW World Championship and put a shot at a future title match on the line when he faced Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Even though Jericho won the match, he still pushed for an alliance between the companies in his post-match press conference.

Put aside all hurt feelings, put aside all the egos, put aside all of the issues and politics and concentrate on great wrestling matches and big business," Jericho said.

Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson and Cody Rhodes all addressed that speculation during interviews this week. During a radio interview with ESPN West Palm on Tuesday, the Bucks firmly stated that no deal was being worked on.

"Nothing is happening," Nick said (h/t Fightful for transcript). "I think [Chris] did that to get the Internet to talk a bit more about the situation. The door has not opened up at all. We wish them luck in what they're doing. A lot of our friends work in NJPW and if something came along, we'd be open, but nothing is happening right now."

Meanwhile in his interview with The New York Post, Rhodes seemed a bit more optimistic that something might materialize down the road.

"I think the thing that was strange to me was people were asking for this partnership," Rhodes said. "I don't know what a partnership would look like other than what you saw. Chris Jericho was part of one of the main events of Wrestle Kingdom, Jon Moxley as well. They both were successful.

"It's public knowledge that some guys here, myself included, have exemptions to work New Japan Pro-Wrestling," he added. "But I know that New Japan Pro-Wrestling's focus is New Japan and AEW's focus is AEW. So more likely what a partnership would look like is perhaps some sharing of talent, some shared creative, but we're not going to do a Super Clash III where (Kerry) Von Erich and (Jerry) Lawler are fighting over the title. Sorry, that's a real specific angle I brought up. I'm always hesitant to combine banners versus just respecting each other's banners. But I like how it's referred to as the forbidden door. I don't really think it's forbidden at all."