WWE might be finally ready to go through the forbidden door.
According to a report from F4WOnline‘s Dave Meltzer, WWE president Nick Khan has been having talks with New Japan Pro-Wrestling about WWE becoming the promotion’s exclusive partner in the United States.
According to Meltzer, the talks have been ongoing since March or April, but there’s no status update on where things stand. If the deal would go through, the agreement would see WWE exchanging talent that would work on NJPW events. Meltzer noted that Khan is looking to change the “isolationist attitude” of WWE vs. everyone, and the move would not only re-establish WWE as part of the wrestling landscape but it would also keep New Japan from working with other companies domestically.
In recent months, New Japan has established a working relationship with IMPACT Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling, and worked with Ring Of Honor for many years. It was also recently reported that WWE has been in talks with MLW about a potential working relationship.
During a recent media call, Triple H was asked about by All Elite Wrestling partnering with IMPACT Wrestling and if WWE or NXT would be open to such a collaboration. Triple H says WWE is open for business as long as it makes sense for both sides.
“We’re open for business in a lot of ways and a lot of things,” Triple H responded. “People’s thoughts and misperceptions, their perceived knowledge of what we do and how we think is often greatly misinterpreted and not accurate. Are we open to the right business opportunities? Yeah, at any given time we’re open to things. It just depends on what they are and if they’re beneficial to us in the long-term. When I say long-term I don’t mean three months, I mean 10 years. Long-term. That’s how we think. We’re not necessarily worried about minute-by-minutes. Open for business, I think Vince says that a lot and I’ve been around him long enough that if it’s the right thing and meaningful to business, he’s open to anything.”
Related: Triple H On WWE Working With Other Promotions: ‘We’re Open For Business’
In an update, Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported that the conversations have centered around the possibility of Daniel Bryan wrestling at some NJPW shows:
“PWInsider.com has been told today by sources from each company that there have been communications between the two sides for several months but the main crux of it was over the potential of Daniel Bryan being able to potentially work some dates in NJPW,” wrote Johnson. “Whether anything has come from those discussions remain to be seen.”
Johnson also emphasized that, as of this writing, the conversations between the two companies haven’t produced an official agreement or anything of the sort.
In the past, Bryan has expressed his desire to wrestle around the world for other companies. His WWE contract expired earlier this month, so it’s unclear how that development might have impacted these discussions.
WrestleZone will have more details as they become available.
