NJPW officially pulled the current NEVER Openweight Champion Karl Anderson from the November 5th Battle Autumn event in Osaka.
Karl Anderson was originally scheduled to defend the NEVER Openweight against Hikuleo at Battle Autumn but was added to the WWE Crown Jewel show in Saudi Arabia which also falls in November 5th. Anderson had indicated via social media that he would not be at the NJPW Battle Autumn show. This created an unpleasant situation between NJPW and Karl Anderson.
Hikuleo will now be facing Yujiro Takahashi at Battle Autumn.
Here the official press release from NJPW:
“Despite extensive efforts by New Japan Pro-Wrestling to negotiate with Karl Anderson regarding his scheduled match in Osaka at Battle Autumn on November 5, NJPW officials have still been met with no response, and have been left with no other option but to cancel the planned NEVER Openweight Championship match.
We apologise to fans who had been looking forward to watching Anderson wrestle.
After a challenge from Yujiro Takahashi, and at the direct request of Hikuleo, Osaka will now see a non-title special singles match between Yujiro Takahashi and Hikuleo.
NJPW holds its champions to the highest standard of professionalism. We deeply apologise for the inconvenience and disappointment caused by this matter.”
