BJ Whitmer Departs ROH Amidst Frustrations With Company

BJ Whitmer is no longer with Ring of Honor. The 40-year-old tendered his resignation earlier this week. According to a report from Pro Wrestling Sheet, Whitmer was unhappy with the company, leading to his departure.

“We’re told BJ had been unhappy with management for months and that was his reasoning for quitting,” wrote Ryan Satin.

According to PW Insider, Whitmer sent an email to ROH employees which was critical of the company. He said he had been treated with “utter disrespect” by ROH in the email. The report from PW Insider would continue to say an incident involving a WWE PC guest-coaching spot may have been the catalyst for these events. ROH evidently would not let Whitmer accept a guest-coaching spot with WWE. Such temporary positions are often offered to industry veterans for a few days at the Performance Center in Orlando.

“In leaving ROH, I want to say thank you and it’s been a pleasure working with all of you,” Whitmer wrote to ROH employees. “I wish everyone nothing but the best and I’m certain I’ll cross paths with most of you again.”

ROH has declined comment on the matter.

All In - Results

AEW All In

Date: 01.09.2018

Promotion: All Elite Wrestling

Location: Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

Arena: Sears Centre Arena

Attendance: 11.263

Commentary by: Don Callis, Excalibur, & Ian Riccaboni

Tag Team Match

SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) defeat The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) (12:33)

ROH World Title #1 Contendership 15 Man Over Budget Battle Royal

Chico El Luchador (Flip Gordon) defeats Austin Gunn and Billy Gunn and Brandon Cutler and Brian Cage and Bully Ray and Cheeseburger and Chuckie T and Colt Cabana and Ethan Page and Hurricane Helms and Jimmy Jacobs and Jordynne Grace and Marko Stunt and Moose and Punishment Martinez and Rocky Romero and Tommy Dreamer and Trent (17:06)

- Marko Stunt eliminates Moose

- Ethan Page eliminates Brandon Cutler

- Punishment Martinez eliminates Chuckie T and Trent

- Brian Cage eliminates Rocky Romero

- Brian Cage eliminates Cheeseburger

- Ethan Page eliminates Hurricane Helms

- Colt Cabana eliminates Ethan Page

- Bully Ray eliminates Tommy Dreamer

- Billy Gunn eliminates Jimmy Jacobs

- Austin Gunn eliminates Punishment Martinez

- Bully Ray eliminates Austin Gunn

- Brian Cage eliminates Billy Gunn

- Bully Ray eliminates Marko Stunt

- Jordynne Grace eliminates Brian Cage

- Bully Ray eliminates Jordynne Grace

- Bully Ray eliminates Colt Cabana

- Chico El Luchador eliminates Bully Ray 

Singles Match

Matt Cross defeats Maxwell Jacob Friedman (10:07)

Singles Match (Special Referee: Jerry Lynn)

Christopher Daniels defeats Stephen Amell (11:45)

Four Way Match

Tessa Blanchard defeats Chelsea Green and Dr. Britt Baker DMD and Madison Rayne (12:44)

Chicago Street Fight

Hangman Page defeats Joey Janela (w/Penelope Ford) (20:09)

ROH World Title Match

Jay Lethal (w/Lanny Poffo) (c) defeats Flip Gordon (w/Brandi Rhodes) (14:24)

Singles Match

Kenny Omega defeats Penta El Zero M (17:47)

Singles Match

Kazuchika Okada defeats Marty Scurll (26:07)

Six Man Tag Team Match

The Golden Elite (Kota Ibushi, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) defeat Bandido, Rey Fenix & Rey Mysterio (11:43)

NWA World Heavyweight Title Vs. Cody's Ring Of Honor Match

Cody Rhodes (w/Brandi Rhodes) defeats Nick Aldis (c) (w/ Kamilla Kaine) (22:02) - TITLE CHANGE !!!

Flip Gordon Signs New Contract With Ring of Honor

One of the fastest rising prospects on the Ring of Honor roster has re-signed with the company.

According to a report from PW Insider, Flip Gordon has just reached a deal with Ring of Honor which will keep him in the promotion through to 2020. He still has yet to reach a deal with Cody and the Young Bucks to participate at All-In on September 1st, 2018, however.

It has been a big year for Gordon. Not only has he re-signed with Ring of Honor but Gordon also made his debut in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament in Japan this spring. His new deal with ROH means he’ll likely find himself in the tournament again next year. His new contract also ensures he will be with the promotion when they run Madison Square Garden over WrestleMania weekend next year.

Gordon began his pro-wrestling career in 2015 and found himself on the Ring of Honor roster in 2017.

Earlier this year, Gordon spoke with reporter Chris Van Vliet about his attempts to join Bullet Club. “I tried. Kenny and Cody didn’t want me in there,” Flip said. “So if The Bucks can convince them then sure.”

Earlier this summer, Gordon spoke with the New York Post about being positioned as a little-brother type character on Being the Elite.

“It’s kind of funny because I’ve never been the little brother,” Gordon said. “I’ve always been the oldest brother out of my family. I’ve never had an older brother. I always looked to my cousins or other people that I looked up to as big brothers. So it’s kind of funny. I guess that is kind of my character because the Young Bucks, Marty, all them are like big brothers to me.”

Ring of Honor will be back on the road in mid-August. They’ll run shows from Edinburgh, Doncaster, and London before returning to Philadelphia on August 25th.

Rey Mysterio Booked For NJPW Event Next Month

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced Rey Mysterio will return to the promotion next month. The famous luchador is scheduled to have a match on the final night of the G1 Climax 28 show from the Nippon Budokan on August 12th, 2018.

Mysterio’s opponent for the show has yet to be named, however. His only match for NJPW to date was at last month’s Dominion. On that night, he teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jushin Liger in a losing effort to Cody, Hangman Page, and Marty Scurll.

Mysterio originally challenged Jushin Liger when he first appeared in NJPW. A match between the two legends for Strong Style Evolved was eventually scrapped last year, however. Mysterio was forced to withdraw from the event due to a torn bicep.

It’s possible Liger is named later as his opponent, however that is only speculation.

ROH & NJPW Book Madison Square Garden For April 6th, 2019

In a landmark announcement, ROH and NJPW have just announced a super-card from Madison Square Garden.

“ROH and NJPW are proud to announce that on April 6th, 2019, the companies will join forces to present the ultimate wrestling event,” an ROH press release reads. “G1 Supercard, to fans from around the world, LIVE from Madison Square Garden in New York City!”

It had previously been reported that talks between ROH and the historic venue had broken down.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ring of Honor Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling to Madison Square Garden for the much anticipated G1 Supercard,” said Joel Fisher, Executive Vice President, MSG Marquee Events. “We expect April 6th to be another memorable night of wrestling at The World’s Most Famous Arena.”

“This is destined to join a long list of historical wrestling moments and where better to hold it than at Madison Square Garden,” ROH Chief Operating Officer Joe Koff said.

Koff would continue to say that this would not be possible without the tremendous fan support they enjoy.

Tickets will go on sale August 8th, 2017 at 10AM ET for Honor Club VIP subscribers. They will go on sale to the general public August 10th.

Hiromu Takahashi Injury Update

New Japan Pro Wrestling has sent out an update on the condition of Hiromu Takahashi. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion collapsed backstage at the Cow Palace Saturday. He is believed to have suffered a broken neck during a triangle to a cradle-suplex spot where he landed on his head.

“It is reported Takahashi, after the match was immediately taken to a nearby hospital,” the statement reads. “He is currently undergoing a thorough evaluation, Takahashi is conscious, and is able to sit and talk.”

Takahashi indicated to the referee after the botched move that he was OK to finish the match despite the injury. He even performed his Time Bomb finisher without looking as though he was in much discomfort. Takahashi walked to the back on his own after winning the match as well.

I will keep you up-to-date with any news regarding Hiromu Takahashi’s condition.

Hiromu Takahashi Taken To Hospital With Possible Broken Neck Following G1 Special

Hiromu Takahashi is believed to have suffered a broken neck during his match with Dragon Lee last night in the Cow Palace. The injury is believed to have been suffered during a cradle-suplex where Takahashi was dropped on top of his head.

“He finished the match, retained the championship and I guess he collapsed backstage or something. They took him to the hospital and the preliminary word is they thought that he had a broken neck,” Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio last night. “Hopefully, it’s not as bad as that but that’s the word we got.”

Takahashi would continue the match. Red Shoes checked on him after the spot and then backed off as if everything was ok. They did several spots after the injury, including Takahashi giving Dragon Lee the Time Bomb for the win.

3 More Names Confirmed For All In

3 more names have been confirmed for All In on September 1st, 2018 from the Sears Center in Chicago. Despite hating the city the event is being held in, the members of ROH”s SoCal Uncensored faction have just declared for All In.

Christopher Daniels announced the news earlier today on Twitter:

The trio from Ring of Honor consists of Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky.

Confirmed For All In:

Cody Rhodes

The Young Bucks

Hangman Page

Marty Scurll

Kota Ibushi

MJF

Madison Rayne

Paul Turner (ref)

Rick Knox (ref)

Todd Sinclair (ref)

Jerry Lynn (ref)

Earl Hebner (ref)

Matt Cross

Kazuchika Okada

Stephen Amell

Specifically not Flip Gordon

Tessa Blanchard

Joey Janela

Jay Lethal

Pentagon

Fenix

Brandi Rhodes

WWE & Pro Wrestling NOAH Reach Deal To Share Hideo Itami

WWE has reportedly reached an agreement with Japanese promotion, Pro Wrestling NOAH, on a talent sharing deal. The agreement will see Hideo Itami return to the company he first made his name for.

According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE and NOAH reached a talent-sharing agreement at least as it concerns Itami. The wrestler formerly known as KENTA, will return to NOAH for a show in August.

Kenta Kobayashi, better known to WWE fans as Hideo Itami, has struggled to become relevant in WWE. He spent 13 years in Pro Wrestling NOAH previously, winning their Junior Heavyweight Championship on 3 occasions. Near the end of his career with NOAH, Itami would enter the heavyweight division and win the GHC Heavyweight Championship as well.  Itami signed with WWE in 2014 but injury woes caused him to lose momentum on the NXT roster.

The wrestlers Itami shared the roster with in NXT have all been on the main roster for some time now. Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tyler Breeze, and even the Ascension were some of the top names in NXT at the time.

Itami dropped his KENTA name when he debuted for NXT. Before his first match, he announced he would be going by the name Hideo Itami. The name translates to “Hero of Pain”.

Eventually, Itami’s lack of success led to a heel turn. In 2017, he was moved to the cruiserweight division on 205 Live. On Tuesday night, Itami moved closer to his first shot at the Cruiserweight Championship by defeating Buddy Murphy and Mustafa Ali in a 3-way match. The win likely moves Itami into a position to be the next to challenge Cedric Alexander for the title.

WWE will run two shows from Tokyo on June 29th and 30th next week. Shinsuke Nakamura will challenge for the WWE Championship each night.

Meiko Satomura Likely Added To Mae Young Classic

Tokyo Sports is reporting that longtime Joshi veteran, Meiko Satomura, will be taking part in the second Mae Young Classic. The 38-year-old is a former World of Stardom champion and 1/3 of the Chikara Trios champions.

In 2005, Satomura co-founded the all-woman promotion, Sendai Girls. She also worked with WCW in the mid-90s on their short-lived women’s division which was to feature the likes of Bull Nakano and Madusa.

She helped create Sendai Girls after a previous female promotion, Gaea Japan, went out of business. Satomura wrestled in the final match ever held by the promotion before founding a new company the next year. She is the current Fight Club Pro champion. Satomura is also the last person to win the Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize award before Io Shirai began her sweep of the award. Satomura was given the award in 2013 and Shirai has swept every year since. That will change in 2018, however, as Shirai has spent the year with NXT.

Satomura defeated Kairi Hojo (Kairi Sane) for the World of Stardom Championship on July 26th, 2015. She held the title for 150 days before losing it to Io Shirai, who would then hold the title for 546 consecutive days. The most recent title change in the promotion saw Toni Storm drop the belt to Kagetsu on June 9th in Nagoya. Storm is recently believed to have signed a WWE UK deal and could likely end up in the second Mae Young Classic as well.

Last year, the tournament taped over a couple of days in July. They then aired the finale live in September. This year, it is believed they are looking at filming the tournament in August. This has not been confirmed, however. Full Sail University is expected to host the tournament again this year.

Impact Wrestling Hires Alicia Atout As Backstage Interviewer

Impact Wrestling has hired Alicia Atout as the company’s new backstage interviewer. Atout runs the award-winning blog and interview site, AMBY. The site posts interviews with wrestlers and musicians.

Atout was brought in by the company for the latest set of TV Tapings in Windsor. She recently posted to her social media account that she is now with the company in a more permanent role.

Impact’s previous host, McKenzie Mitchell, recently posted about moving on to new adventures. This should lead some to believe she is no longer going to be working with the promotion.

The company likely chose to bring in Atout over McKenzie at the most recent set of tapings due to geographical convenience. McKenzie is based out of Nashville and it had been easy to bring her in for the Orlando shows. As the tapings earlier this month took place in Windsor, ON, Canada it would have been cheaper for the company to bring in Atout, who is from Toronto.

Atout has also interviewed wrestlers for promotions such as Smash Wrestling, RISE, Shimmer, and appears frequently on the Fight Network in Canada.

Brian Christopher Arrested In Memphis

Former WWE tag-team champion, Brian Christopher, has been arrested. Christopher and the owner/chairman of the Glory Championship Wrestling Alliance, Terry Teague, were arrested for failing to pay for a hotel bill totaling over $800.

It’s been an unfortunate few months for the son of Jerry Lawler. In March, it was reported that Christopher was beaten so badly he required surgery. Indie wrestler, Chase Stevens, was arrested shortly after the incident.

Fox Memphis was the first to report on Christopher’s arrest. According to their report, Lawler and Teague had used a company credit card to pay for their stay. When the hotel attempted to bill the wrestlers there was not enough money remaining on the card they used. The hotel then notified the police after being informed by Christopher and Teague that they were unable to pay their bill through other methods. The pair were staying at the Hampton Inn on Peabody Place in Memphis.

Christopher has been charged with Theft of Services under $1000 or less. The crime is deemed a misdemeanor offense in Tennessee.

Tennessee law lists the following possible penalties for Christopher’s offense:

“Tennessee law specifies that penalties for a Misdemeanor Theft conviction apply if the value of lost property or services was $1,000 or less.  Misdemeanor Theft is a Class A Misdemeanor and may result in some or all of the following penalties:

1. A sentence of up to 11 months, 29 days in prison;

2. A probationary period;

3. A fine of up to $2,500;

4. Court costs.”

The 46-year old has yet to wrestle a match in 2018. He’s been dealing with the facial injuries he suffered since March.

Christopher has been wrestling only sporadically in recent years. He wrestled 4 matches in 2017 and only 5 in 2016. Often, he will wrestle under his former Grandmasta Sexay gimmick as well. On occasion, he has been joined by Scotty 2 Hotty on the indie scene as well. In 2015, Too Cool wrested several matches together. Scotty 2 Hotty now works at the WWE Performance Center in Florida, however.

Io Shirai Headed To WWE

According to Japanese media outlet, Tokyo Sports, Io Shirai is headed to WWE.

There had been reports last year that Shirai was WWE bound as well but the 27-year-old’s offer was rescinded after she failed a company medical. Shirai was found to have an injured neck and ended up returning to Stardom.

It appears WWE once again has a contract offer on the table for Shirai. It’s not clear if WWE has taken a second look at her medical records or not at this point, however.

Tokyo Sports is reporting that Shirai’s last match for Stardom will be June 23rd, 2018. The media outlet notes that Stardom’s advertising for their July shows does not feature a picture of Shirai.

Shirai lost her “Wonder of Stardom” championship last week, spurring rumors she was leaving the company. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported the title change had always been in the works, however, and likely had nothing to do with Shirai leaving. The Observer also reported that WWE has made offers to several other talents from Stardom likely for the upcoming Mae Young Class tournament this summer. Stardom’s Toni Storm also recently signed with WWE as part of the UK division.

Shirai is one of the most talented and respected female athletes in all of Japan. She has won Tokyo Sports’ “Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize” award a record 3 straight times. Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked her #6 in their Top-50 countdown of female wrestlers in 2017.

All In Sells Out In Under 30 Minutes

All In on September 1st, 2018, from the Sears Center in Chicago, will be the biggest non-WWE wrestling show in the United States or Canada since the closing of WCW in 2001.

Yesterday, all 10,000 tickets to the event were sold in under 30 minutes. Many are rejoicing at the news today as it signifies just how successful non-WWE wrestling can be in the current era.

Some fans are upset scalpers purchased a good chunk of tickets to the event, however. Unfortunately, this is a reality for all ticketed events which are expected to sell-out.

Friday’s ROH show in Toronto was sold-out and tickets were available on the secondary market for 4x face value. Ticketmaster and other outlets have methods in place to limit how many tickets scalpers can purchase but there is only so much they can do.

At yesterday’s press conference, Billy Corgan announced the NWA World Heavyweight Championship will be defended at All In. The challenger will be none other than Cody himself. The title belt owned by Billy Corgan and held by Nick Aldis played a significant role in Cody’s father’s career. It is fitting that Cody would challenge for it at such a significant event in his own career.

A question which will probably go on unanswered until the event itself is what will happen if Cody wins the championship? It’s not clear if he would take the belt with him to Ring Of Honor. The NWA World Heavyweight Championship has been defended in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where Cody also works, on multiple occasions.

The events at All-In may go a long way in determining how closely promotions such as ROH, the NWA, as well as Impact and Lucha Underground are able to work together.

Danny Burch Signs Full-Time WWE Contract

Martin Stone, better known to NXT fans as Danny Burch, has signed a full-time contract with WWE. He lost his last match for Beyond Wrestling over the weekend to Josh Briggs.

Burch had previously been signed to WWE from 2011 to 2014. He was used primarily as enhancement talent on NXT. Burch was released from his WWE contract in 2014 but would be back with the company the following year. He would wrestle as enhancement talent for another 3 years in NXT before reportedly signing a full-time WWE contract yesterday.

One possible reason WWE has re-signed Burch to an exclusive deal is the upcoming World of Sport television tapings planned for mid-May. If Burch was a free agent, he would be free to wrestle on the World of Sport television tapings. While Burch is likely available for non-WWE shows in Europe provided they are not televised, his new deal likely prevents him from appearing for World of Sport.

Burch has wrestled 25 WWE televised matches in his career. Aside from his loss in the opening round of the United Kingdom Championship tournament, all of Burch’s televised matches have taken place on NXT. He currently has a 1-24 record. His one win came against his frequent tag-team partner, Oney Lorcan. Most recently, Burch and Oney were eliminated by Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong in the 1st round of the 2018 Dusty Rhodes Classic.

In 2014, Burch competed on the TNA British Bootcamp show. While he was successful on the show, he would not earn a spot on the Impact Wrestling roster through the show. The wrestler now known as Tanga Loa was victorious on the One Night Only: Gut Check PPV and earned a spot on an episode of Impact as a result.

Burch made his pro-wrestling debut in 2003 after having been trained by the Dropkixx Academy as well as the Frontier Wrestling Alliance.

3 More Names Confirmed For “All-In”

The Bullet Club/The Elite organized “All-In” show for September 1st in Chicago gained 3 more names yesterday. The show is scheduled for the Sears Center in Chicago and will be accompanied by a fan and podcast convention (Starrcast) in the days leading up to the event.

Yesterday the organizers of the event announced Penelope Ford, “Bad Boy” Joey Janela, and Chelsea Green have declared they are “All In”.

As the list of All In performers continues to grow, we’ve got an updated roster below:

Confirmed for All In:

Penelope Ford (new)

“Bad Boy” Joey Janela (new)

Chelsea Green (new)

Kazuchika Okada

Deonna Purrazzo

Pentagon Jr.

Ray Fenix

Cracker Barrel

Tessa Blanchard

Kenny Omega

Matt & Nick Jackson

Hangman Page

Cody

Specifically not Flip Gordon

Stephen Amell

Marty Scurll

The Elite’s planned “All In” show is getting eclipsed somewhat by the scheduled NJPW show at California’s Cow Palace. New Japan Pro Wrestling announced the show at Strong Style Evolved this year.

While reports vary, it is believed the Cow Palace can currently hold 13,000 – 15,000 for wrestling. This makes it a bigger venue than the Sears Center in Chicago.

All In on September 1st, 2018, is not associated with any promotion. There are also no plans to air the show on a paid-streaming service such as Honor Club or New Japan World. For that reason, it is open to wrestlers contracted to other promotions. As it stands now, the World Champions in NJPW and Impact Wrestling are scheduled for the show. NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Nick Aldis, has also expressed interest in competing on the show. On a recent edition of the “10lbs of Gold” YouTube series, Aldis appeared on the Busted Open radio show and spoke on how the NWA title should be at All In.

Tyrus Gone From Impact Wrestling (Again)

George Murdoch, FKA Tyrus, is gone from Impact Wrestling… again.

The 45-year-old heavyweight had originally left the company in the summer of 2017 but resurfaced at the last set of TV tapings from Orlando. The episodes of Impact filmed during these tapings have been airing since February 1st, 2018.

According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Tyrus has once again given Impact Wrestling his notice. Tyrus stated that he and the company didn’t see eye-to-eye creatively.

Tyrus gave similar reasons for ending his relationship with Impact Wrestling the last time around in 2017 as well. He has plenty going on for himself outside of wrestling, so it is not too big a surprise that he is willing to leave a company if he doesn’t enjoy what he is working on.

Tyrus is a regular on several Fox News programs and has had a successful 2017 as an actor. He appeared in 2 episodes of the hit show GLOW on Netflix last year. Tyrus also appears in an episode of the Netflix original series, Love, which was released earlier this year. Several other IMDB credits have been added to his profile the last two years as well.

Jack Swagger (Jake Hager) Signs With MLW

Major League Wrestling is positioned to have a big year in 2018. The promotion recently signed a television deal with BeIN Sports to air episodes of MLW: Fusion on Friday nights beginning April 20th.

Today, the company announced the signing of Jake Hager (FKA Jack Swagger) to a “multi-fight” deal. MLW is presenting their product more as a fictional combat sport than sports entertainment, hence the “multi-fight” wording regarding Hager’s signing. Hager’s first event with MLW will be at the promotion’s TV tapings on May 3rd. Pentagon is scheduled to face Shane Strickland for the MLW World Championship on the show.

It also appears Hager has aligned with the returning manager, Colonel Robert Parker and his re-formed “Stud Stable”. The 67-year old grandfather recently made his return to pro-wrestling at an MLW show in February.

"A reckoning is coming to the heavyweight division of Major League Wrestling" Colonel Parker said.

Earlier this year, Hager signed a deal to fight in MMA with Bellator as well. The former collegiate wrestling standout would later say he hopes to fight once and possibly even twice in 2018.

"I want to fight in 2018 for sure,” Hager said to MMA Junkie back in January. “I almost want to fight twice. That’s a bold statement, but I don’t want to waste any time. I want to jump in there. I feel like I’m in good shape now. I feel like in six months, in the summertime, I’ll be ready to make a statement.”

While training for his MMA debut, Hager has continued to stay active on the independent wrestling scene. Earlier this year, he completed a tour for the now-defunct 5-Star Wrestling in England.

Major League Wrestling just finished an 8-person single-elimination tournament to crown a new World’s Champion. Shane Strickland defeated Matt Riddle in a tournament which also featured Tom Lawlor, MVP, Jimmy Havoc, Jeff Cobb, Brody King, and Maxwell Jacob Friedman.

“All In” Adds Two More Names, Including a Major International Star

Bullet Club’s planned “All-In” event in Chicago on September 1st, 2018 added two big names yesterday.

The first to declare yesterday was Deonna Purrazzo:

The 23-year old Purrazzo is part of ROH’s Women of Honor division. She lost in the quarter-finals of the WOH Championship Tournament recently.

IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, has also declared he will be at the event on September 1st, 2018.

Okada’s inclusion in the event is significant for a few reasons. He is NJPW’s top star and the event will be taking place not long after the annual G1 tournament. When it comes time for All-In, Okada might already be involved in his next big storyline rivalry.