Yota Tsuji Invites Tony Khan To G1 Climax 36 In Chicago
Yota Tsuji extends an invitation to AEW President Tony Khan.
This past Sunday, June 28, All Elite Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, CMLL, and STARDOM came together to present Forbidden Door at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. While stars from all four promotions featured on the card, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji was notably absent after declaring a boycott of the event.
After Tony Khan addressed his absence during the Forbidden Door media scrum, saying he respects the IWGP Heavyweight Champion and has always tried to make him feel welcome in AEW, Yota Tsuji responded in an interview with Tokyo Sports. Tsuji made it clear the respect is mutual and invited Khan to the opening night of G1 Climax 36 in Chicago.
“I was once again struck by the breadth of his character as a person. I’ll say it again: I respect Tony Khan. While I have my own thoughts about AEW, what I really see as a problem is New Japan’s diplomatic style. I think we can build a new relationship by reevaluating those aspects. If his schedule allows, I’d like Tony Khan to come to Chicago as well. I think this is our chance to show AEW’s champion right here in the U.S. what the IWGP is all about. If anything, I’d even like to play a round of golf with him afterward. In that sense, I think it will also be a battle for the prestige of our respective promotions. I want to show U.S. fans exactly what a New Japan IWGP champion is all about.”
-Yota Tsuji
G1 Climax 36 gets underway on July 11 at the NOW Arena in Chicago, Illinois, with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji set to main event the opening night against AEW International Champion and former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita. The Wrestle Kingdom 20 rematch is one Tsuji hopes Tony Khan will be paying close attention to.
Yota Tsuji had highlighted the treatment of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at previous Forbidden Door events as a key reason behind his boycott, a stance in line with comments he made earlier this year after beginning his first reign with the title, when he declared he would only defend the gold if he was positioned in a show’s main event.
While the IWGP Heavyweight Champion was absent from this year’s Forbidden Door, IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Shota Umino successfully defended his title against PAC. Another member of the Death Riders now awaits him at Korakuen Hall on July 6, as Gabe Kidd looks to dethrone the Roughneck.
Elsewhere at Forbidden Door, Jon Moxley defeated Bandido to retain the AEW Continental Championship, although former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Callum Newman was reportedly originally scheduled to face the Death Riders’ leader before suffering a shoulder injury. You can read more about that here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Yota Tsuji’s stance on the relationship between New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling as soon as we hear more.
Translated using DeepL.
