Scheduling Conflict with NJPW May Limit Star Appearances at AEW's WrestleDream

In a recent post-All In press conference, Tony Khan revealed details about a new pay-per-view addition to the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) calendar. Named WrestleDream, the event is slated for October 1st in Seattle and will mark the first anniversary of the passing of Japanese wrestling icon Antonio Inoki. Khan said that the event aims to pay homage to Inoki and mentioned that he has been in communication with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) to potentially include some of its stars in the event.

However, there may be a hitch in those plans. Wrestling Observer Radio's Dave Meltzer pointed out scheduling conflicts that could prevent top NJPW talent from participating in the AEW event. Meltzer said, “Yeah. It’s a tribute to Antonio Inoki…..You’re going to think there’s going to be a bunch of New Japan guys, but New Japan has a show at Korakuen Hall that same day. Tanahashi, Okada, and Naito are all in the show, so none of them can be on this show.”

Meltzer continued by stating that among the big names, only Hiroki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi are available, but added that they "don't they wouldn’t mean anything." Meltzer also mentioned the availability of Will Ospreay for the event, adding, “It’s interesting that they did a pay-per-view. You know, two things are interesting. They’re doing a pay-per-view honoring the founder of New Japan Pro Wrestling, and none of the top New Japan guys are going to be able to be on the show.”

Additionally, Meltzer brought up another intriguing point about AEW's scheduling. He noted that this new pay-per-view is on a Sunday, which deviates from their usual Saturday events. He added, “And far more important, this pay-per-view is on a Sunday. We were wondering, and I still don’t know what they’re doing on that November 18th deal [Full Gear]. What do they do about that? November 18th is a Saturday, I believe. And you know, they have Collision. So I don’t know how they’re going to handle it. This one, they’re going to do a Collision in Seattle on Saturday, and then the pay-per-view is on a Sunday.”

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AEW All In made history as the pinnacle event for Tony Khan's wrestling promotion, filling Wembley Stadium with a record-breaking 81,000 fan [...]

— Ben Jordan Kerin Aug 31, 2023 05:41PM