NJPW commentator Chris Charlton has reportedly been suspended for two months following controversial comments made during Saturday’s Wrestle Dynasty event, according to Fightful Select.
During the broadcast, Charlton made remarks critical of AEW and its president, Tony Khan, which seemingly landed him in hot water with NJPW. Dave Meltzer previously reported that Charlton had been placed on an “indefinite hiatus” due to these comments. Most notably, he referred to Khan as a “money mark” during the Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd match, appearing to stoke the storyline tension between AEW and NJPW.
Additionally, Charlton questioned the accomplishments of Kazuchika Okada, Jay White, and Will Ospreay since leaving NJPW for AEW and unfavorably compared AEW’s Continental Classic to NJPW’s G1 tournament. Charlton was notably absent from commentary during this morning’s New Year’s Dash event.
During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed the situation in more detail.
Meltzer explained, “I heard from someone in Japan who is very close to everything and basically said, there’s stuff going on there and they’re very unhappy about that. But he was watching the Japanese version so had no idea what it was. Obviously, the guy’s trying to sell an angle.”
Alvarez added, “Yes, there was an angle here with Gabe Kidd coming out with the New Japan trunks on and they’re trying to do a story here. But the issue people had was there’s a way to build up the rivalry without saying that Tony Khan is a money mark who stole Jay White and Okada and Kenny Omega and has done nothing with them since.”
It appears that while Charlton may have been attempting to enhance the storyline between AEW and NJPW, his comments were perceived as crossing a line, leading to NJPW’s disciplinary action.
