AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling recently celebrated their working relationship’s two-year anniversary. The two wrestling powerhouses officially joined forces in February 2021 when NJPW’s KENTA appeared on AEW Dynamite, attacking Jon Moxley. KENTA and Moxley were on a collision course for the IWGP United States Championship in the Far East, which was already allowed due to AEW stars being able to take their own independent bookings, but KENTA’s appearance on AEW programming signified a clearly-defined crossover between the two companies.
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The crossovers continued throughout 2021, as veteran Japanese sensations like Minoru Suzuki, Tomohiro Ishii, and Satoshi Kojima all competed on AEW TV. This eventually culminated in a full-on crossover show in June 2022, AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door, which notably featured some AEW stars walk away with NJPW gold. While most of the crossovers have seemingly gone one way, top AEW acts like Kenny Omega and FTR competed on NJPW soil this past month at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. Omega left that event with the IWGP United States Title, indicating that his Far East obligations will continue throughout this year.
One of the biggest NJPW responsibilities comes every summer in the form of the G1 Climax. This historic round-robin tournament features up to 28 wrestlers competing against one another to earn an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom. 2022’s tournament was largely composed of NJPW stars but did feature AEW’s Lance Archer.
AEW’s Bryan Danielson has long emphasized his desire to compete in Japan, specifically wanting to wrestle in the G1 Climax. This is an opportunity that AEW President Tony Khan admits would be “great,” but poses some big difficulties.
“To be honest: I think it would be great in many ways, but Bryan Danielson, it’s quite possible, could be AEW World Champion [by then],” Khan told In The Kliq podcast. “Either way, I think it’d be hard for him to disappear from the show, especially as the AEW World Champion. I’m not sure he’ll be able to get away from the show that much. We’ll have to see what happens here coming out of Revolution.”
The full G1 Climax lasts for just over one month, typically running from mid-July until mid-August. In terms of AEW’s schedule, that comes right in the heart of the build to AEW All Out, which is usually held on either the last Sunday of August or first Sunday of September.
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on Danielson’s NJPW future.
