Rocky Romero Explains How Karl Anderson WWE-NJPW Deal Came Together, Comments On Sasha Banks

Rocky Romero details how WWE and NJPW worked together. 

At NJPW World Tag League and Super Junior Tag League, Karl Anderson successfully defended his NEVER Openweight Championship against Hikuleo. After the bout, Anderson and Tama Tonga set up a NEVER Openweight Title bout for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 at the Tokyo Dome. 

Anderson is currently signed to WWE after returning to the promotion in October while still holding the NEVER Openweight Championship. WWE and NJPW worked out a deal to have Anderson still defend the title, and Rocky Romero discussed with Renee Paquette on The Sessions how it all came together. 

“It’s been a very stressful situation for me. Obviously, when the guys started talking about WWE had reached out to them. I, of course, started to get nervous because I knew we had a bunch of dates set and everything. Anderson was the NEVER Openweight Champion. I got worried and said, ‘Just don’t screw me over.’ I was part of the reason they came back. Obviously, they left on good terms, but to bring them back I was part of that. We started talking about that. Finally, he was like, ‘We’re going to sign and somebody is going to have to talk to WWE.’ Of course, that means me. I got on the line and there was some confusion on the dates they were actually going to do. There was the November 5th show that Anderson had already been announced for New Japan, but it was the same time the Saudi Arabia show was going on. Obviously, there was going to be a conflict right there. It started off real rocky. They went and did Saudi, we figured it out, got a new date and decided to turn it into a big angle because I thought that was the best way to deal with it, hoping that everything was going to work out, but not really sure. Finally, he went and did this last show and successfully defended the title, so now he’ll be at the Tokyo Dome to face Tama Tonga,” he said. 

Romero said Wrestle Kingdom 17 is shaping up to be a big show with Anderson from WWE, Kenny Omega from AEW, and STARDOM talent set for the event. 

When asked by Renee if there was anyone else showing up that they weren’t sure of, hinting at Sasha Banks throughout the episode, Rocky said, “I’ve heard a lot of rumors, but I can’t confirm nor deny at this moment. Fingers crossed, you never know what could happen. There will definitely be surprises at the Tokyo Dome.”

Banks will reportedly be at Wrestle Kingdom 17.

Renee then asked about the possibility of AJ Styles cornering Anderson. Rocky replied, “Anything is possible.”

While Romero is doing behind the scenes work for NJPW and Wrestle Kingdom, he is not scheduled for a match, but could compete in the annual NJPW Rambo. 

Fans can check out the current lineup for Wrestle Kingdom 17 by clicking here. 

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