New Japan Pro Wrestling issued an official statement regarding Karl Anderson’s status for the Battle Autumn event on November 5, which is the same day at WWE Crown Jewel.
NJPW has advertised Karl Anderson for the event where he is scheduled to defend the NEVER Openweight Championship at the Battle Autumn show.
Anderson and Doc Gallows returned to WWE during the October 10 episode of WWE Raw, and have been booked for six-man tag team action at WWE Crown Jewel.
NJPW has continued to advertise Anderson’s title defense for Battle Autumn. On October 19, Anderson and Gallows posted a video on Twitter stating that they won’t appear at the NJPW show.
The statement from NJPW and Karl Anderson is below:
Thank you for supporting New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Early morning Japan time on October 20, NEVER Openweight Champion Karl Anderson posted a video on social media indicating that he would not be making his advertised commitment on November 5 in Osaka.
NJPW had announced Anderson’s match with Hikuleo for the NEVER Openweight Championship on October 4. Despite comments from Doc Gallows to the contrary in Anderson’s video, the booking was made through the appropriate channels, and with Anderson’s expressed approval.
However, after the match’s announcement, both Gallows and Anderson would appear on the October 10 edition of WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” broadcast. This led to WWE announcing a match featuring both men for their Saudi Arabia event on November 5, in direct conflict with Anderson’s prior commitment.
NJPW has for the past several days attempted to negotiate with Anderson, but has not been met with a response. Should Anderson decide to renege on his scheduled championship match, he will be required to vacate the NEVER Openweight Championship and return the title belt to NJPW immediately.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling holds its champions to the highest standards of professionalism, and sincerely apologies to fans for any disappointment or inconvenience caused by this matter.