NJPW Reportedly Breaking Tradition With Karl Anderson Situation

As previously reported, NJPW cancelled a match between Karl Anderson and Hikuleo at Battle Autumn tomorrow, as Anderson will be in Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel instead. While Hikuleo will fight Yujiro Takahashi instead, it will not be for the NEVER Openweight title.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that NJPW is still working an angle with Anderson and will not strip him of the title. They expect him back to eventually drop it, likely for Wrestle Kingdom 17. That show will be on a Wednesday, so it wouldn’t conflict with a WWE date.

This breaks a tradition in the company where if NJPW promotes a title match and the champion doesn’t appear, they are stripped of the belt. This happens even if it’s for a legitimate reason like travel, illness or injury.