There has been a lot of talk of WWE working with other companies.
In relation to rumors of WWE and Stardom, WWE sources we spoke to hadn’t heard of that yet but were looking into it. After doing so they claimed that no deal had been in place, and they were not aware of conversations. Numerous WWE sources noted that the company was in a new era and things could be done a lot differently.
One source indicated that the WWE-AJPW deal moving forward is a “wait and see how it goes” approach but that things are looking good, and said that WWE has been much more relaxed on these possibilities since Nick Khan gained power, though it wasn’t directly attributed to his arrival, the timeline added up. Sources close to AJPW told us they were happy with Charlie Dempsey’s performances, and that he was a great representative for WWE to send over. Those in NXT we heard back from claim that Dempsey was treated well during his trip. WWE has got multiple main roster looks at Charlie Dempsey over the last year, as they’ve had him face Dexter Lumis, Duke Hudson and Shelton Benjamin on the main roster.
Regarding rumors of WWE interest with NJPW, we’ve heard that WWE has long maintained interest in at least some connection with NJPW. Those we spoke to in both companies don’t think it’s particularly likely considering the strong partnership between AEW and NJPW, but said that with new faces at the helm of both WWE and NJPW, it’s at least more likely than it has been in a long time. Sources within WWE we spoke to said that Vince McMahon usually quickly nixed any discussion of such. Rocky Romero had spoken with Nick Khan at one point years ago, but the conversation never went anywhere.
This article first appeared on our premium service, Fightful Select and was republished here on Fightful. If you complain about it being "old news," you have to pay SRS' taxes. Subscribe to get exclusive news every day, and a half-dozen weekly podcasts.
To directly support us and our continuing breaking news, interviews, and the like, subscribe to FightfulSelect.com. You'll get exclusive news sent to you directly before anyone else, and dozens of podcasts monthly including Alex Pawlowski's Sour Graps, Sean Ross Sapp's Q&A, Retro Reviews and more
