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What’s the story?
A video of WWE and NJPW stars eating dinner together has been making the rounds on the internet, featuring several notable performers such as Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Juice Robinson, Natalya, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, AJ Styles, Luke Harper, Big E and Tamina to name a few.
Apparently, the aforementioned wrestlers, as well as a few others, caught up in Japan, during the WWE’s recent SmackDown live event in Osaka on September 16th.
In case you didn’t know…
The WWE and NJPW are widely regarded as two of the biggest professional wrestling promotions today — with WWE dominating the American market and NJPW ruling the Japanese circuit.
On that note, one ought to remember — as is oft pointed out by pro-wrestling and trade pundits — the WWE still boasts a significant lead over NJPW with regards to worldwide popularity.
The heart of the matter
The WWE’s blue brand put up shop in Osaka, Japan for a live event this past September 16th, with the show being headlined by homegrown talent Shinsuke Nakamura and featuring Asuka in the co-main event.
Apparently, several WWE Superstars opted to visit a popular local restaurant, and in doing so, ran into NJPW stars Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Juice Robinson and Bad Luck Fale.
What’s next?
Although the fact remains that WWE still is the worldwide leader in the pro-wrestling business, NJPW is being heralded by both fans and pundits as the only organization capable of curbing WWE’s apparent monopoly in the industry.
Author’s take
I hope we get to see a potential WWE vs NJPW crossover tournament in the time to come.
Although such cross-promotional tournaments are absolutely wonderful and aren’t unheard of, the WWE is strictly against co-promoting an event with other organizations, so the aforementioned venture seems bleak right now.
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