Two Former WWE Superstars Win New Japan Championships at NJPW Event

WWE's sale to Endeavor resulted in some casualties. Upon the acquisition, Endeavor announced that it would merge WWE with its other combat sports asset, UFC, into one publicly-traded company called TKO. Once that merger was finalized, WWE laid off a significant amount of its employees including dozens of talent on its in-ring roster. Those cuts claimed former main event-caliber stars like Dolph Ziggler and Matt Riddle. Fortunately for those who received pink slips, wrestling life outside of WWE is thriving stronger than it ever has before, with standouts Matt Cardona (formerly WWE's Zack Ryder) enjoying more mainstream success and higher paydays across the independent scene than he ever did in WWE.

The aforementioned Ziggler and Riddle wasted no time in making splashes in the greater wrestling world. Ziggler, now wrestling under his real name of Nic Nemeth, joined both New Japan Pro Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action this past January. Riddle admitted that he is hesitant to begin another televised wrestling schedule but has made one-off appearances for New Japan as well as Major League Wrestling.

Nic Nemeth and Matt Riddle Win NJPW Gold

While neither Nic Nemeth nor Matt Riddle are under a NJPW contract, both men have cemented themselves as regulars for the Far East's top promotion.

That's because both Nemeth and Riddle won gold at NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo. Nemeth defeated David Finlay to become IWGP Global Champion while Riddle took down Hiroshi Tanahashi to capture the NJPW WORLD Television Title.

Nemeth is just the second IWGP Global Champion, as the title was officially introduced this past January at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18. It replaced the IWGP United States / United Kingdom Championship but did not carry on those titles' lineage. This is Nemeth's first championship since April 2022 when he reigned as NXT Champion. Prior to that, Nemeth had not held a singles title since Summer 2018.

Riddle is just the third NJPW WORLD Television Champion. The title to represent New Japan's streaming service was introduced at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 and was won by Zack Sabre Jr. The technical wizard went on to hold the title for exactly one year, losing it at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 to Tanahashi. Riddle had almost the exact same championship drought as Nemeth, last holding gold in May 2022 in the form of the Raw Tag Team Championship.