Swerve Strickland On NJPW: They’re Still Trying To Find Their New Stars

Swerve Strickland believes New Japan Pro-Wrestling are in an interesting place.

This Sunday, on June 28, AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door is set to take place at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, with stars from All Elite Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, and STARDOM all set to feature. One major name scheduled to be in action is Swerve Strickland, and AEW’s Most Dangerous has shared his thoughts on NJPW’s current crop of talent.

When asked about where the relationship between AEW and NJPW stands today in comparison to previous editions of Forbidden Door in an interview with Forbes, Strickland stated that he believes New Japan are yet to establish their next major stars, particularly when compared to the rise of AEW’s younger talent.

“I think it’s in an interesting place right now because I think New Japan is in an interesting place. They’re still trying to find their new stars, their talents that take them into the next generation. AEW is in a place where all of our stars are trying to rise to the top. Kevin Knight has found his own. Kyle Fletcher is finding his own. Bandido is stepping into his own. Now you’ve got Takeshita finally besting Okada. That was a former New Japan legend over there. All these guys are stepping into their own. It’s like all these guys have to be showcased now in certain ways. It’s almost like New Japan hasn’t found all of the guys who are stepping into their own yet, but you are getting the Callum Newmans and the Yota Tsujis. There are guys over there, but now it’s like, can their guys match the amount of guys that we have stepping up? That’s the challenge right now. It’s the new wave of talent matching up. I would say the same thing about the women with Stardom as well. It’s all about matching up that wave of talent that’s rising up. You want to meet them at the same time, not when one side is rising higher than the other.”

-Swerve Strickland

Swerve Strickland is scheduled to take on Will Ospreay in the final of this year’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament at Forbidden Door this weekend, with the winner set to challenge for the AEW World Championship at AEW All In at Wembley Stadium on August 30, a title currently held by MJF in his third reign.

At the time of writing, New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s representation at Forbidden Door features Zack Sabre Jr. facing Kenny Omega in singles action, Shingo Takagi teaming with fellow Unbound Co. member Titán against The Young Bucks and El Sky Team, and Shota Umino defending the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship against PAC.

One notable absence, however, is IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji, who has made his intentions clear that he wants no part of the event. Ahead of his IWGP Global Heavyweight Title defence against PAC, Shota Umino said he understands Tsuji’s decision but is ready to take on the responsibility of the Global Title. You can read more about that here.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates the relationship between AEW and NJPW as soon as we hear more.