NJPW Encouraged Tony Khan To Cut Promo On WWE's Nick Khan
Top NJPW officials encouraged Tony Khan
Apr 28, 2022
In a major surprise in early 2021, KENTA appeared on AEW Dynamite as it was revealed that All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling had forged a working relationship.
The likes of Yuji Nagata and Rocky Romero would appear on AEW TV in the ensuing months but NJPW had the option to end the partnership early on as they were approached by WWE President Nick Khan about forming a working relationship that would have seen Vince McMahon's company become New Japan's exclusive partner in the United States.
WWE ultimately held talks with NJPW about a collaboration as they looked for ways to convince Bryan Danielson to re-sign but the negotiations would ultimately be fruitless, with The American Dragon debuting in AEW in September of 2021.
After talks between NJPW and WWE became public, AEW President Tony Khan took aim at Nick Khan, cutting a promo in which he said there was only room for one Khan in professional wrestling.
"I just wanted to address, as the Forbidden Door, that New Japan Pro-Wrestling has apparently had talks with WWE's President Nick Khan. Well, Nick, if you've been talking to New Japan for two months, you've gotten a lot done," Tony Khan began.
"Just in the last two weeks, I've had Yuji Nagata, Ren Narita, and Rocky Romero in AEW. I've re-united Roppongi Vice. I've had the IWGP US Champion Jon Moxley defend the title successfully on our show and I have future plans with New Japan for the US Title. So you must've really gotten a lot done in two months, Nick. In fact, I think there is room for only room for one Khan in the wrestling business. It's me, Tony Khan. Not some con man from Connecticut."
According to Sports Illustrated, Tony Khan opted to cut the promo following encouragement from top NJPW officials, especially after they had stated that working with AEW was a priority of theirs due to the trust they had forged during the short time the two promotions had worked together.
Since Khan's promo, the AEW and NJPW relationship has only gone from strength to strength and both promotions will collaborate for the June 26 Forbidden Door pay-per-view from Chicago, Illinois.
