wrestling / News

NJPW Announces New Matchups for Battle Autumn 2022, Karl Anderson Still Scheduled

October 11, 2022 | Posted by Jeffrey Harris
NJPW Battle Autumn 2022 - Karl Anderson vs. Hikuleo Image Credit: NJPW

As noted, The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows) made their returns to WWE last night on Raw. However, Anderson, the reigning NEVER Openweight Champion of NJPW, was previously announced for the NJPW Battle Autumn event slated for November 5 in Osaka, Japan, where he’s scheduled to defend the title against Hikuleo. For now, NJPW is still advertising Karl Anderson for the event, so it appears Anderson will be allowed to finish up with New Japan despite re-signing with WWE.

Also confirmed for the event will be a tag team match featuring Taiji Ishimori, Master Wato, El Desperado, and Hiromu Takahashi. New Japan will determine the teams for the match with a random drawing. The four men will later compete against one another for Ishimori’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January.

Additionally, the NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions Aussie Open (Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher) will make their Japanese debuts in New Japan. Their opponents will be announced later on.

Lastly, the semifinals of the NJPW WOrld Television Championship Tournament will also be held at Battle Autumn. Here’s the updated lineup:

* IWGP US Championship Match: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
* NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Karl Anderson (c) vs. Hikuleo
* Taiji Ishimori, Master Wato, El Desperado, and Hiromu Takahashi in a tag team match, with a random drawing determining the two tag teams.
* NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions Aussie Open vs. TBA.
* NJPW World TV Title Tournament Semifinals