All Japan’s Jun Akiyama Will Guest Coach At WWE Performance Center, Meet With HHH
Photo Credit: Bill Pritchard
All Japan Pro Wrestling general manager Jun Akiyama is the latest guest coach to arrive in the WWE Performance Center, but his stint may lead to more than what you might expect. The company announced Jun’s participation via Twitter today, stating that he’d be headed there to see a TV tournament and meet with HHH.
秋山準選手がＷＷＥパフォーマンスセンターのゲストコーチに！
5/12～22まで米国ＷＷＥパフォーマンスセンターへゲストコーチとして参ります。
・パフォーマンスセンターの視察、及び現地選手の指導
・ＮＸＴ大会TV収録視察
・ＨＨＨ氏との会談詳細→https://t.co/VBwQQMq9y8#ajpw #ajpwtv #WWE pic.twitter.com/h9j4F6Nf3Q
— 全日本プロレス/alljapan (@alljapan_pw) March 2, 2020
Readers on Reddit’s SquaredCircle have translated a report by PuroLove and Yahoo Japan that states that the HHH meeting could lead to All Japan merging with WWE. World Wrestling Entertainment has been seeking a partner in Japan for a long while, with the end goal being a Japanese branch of NXT to go with the UK equivalent. The company previously tried to make moves on Stardom and Pro Wrestling NOAH, which led to other mergers in the region.
[PuroLove] Tokyo Sports reports today that AJPW could merge into WWE from SquaredCircle
The article also mentions that talks have gone back as far as June of last year and that Jun has long-standing respect for WWE dating back to the 1990s. If the deal were to go through, it would shift Japan’s wrestling scene into a battle between three companies, each with their own unique offerings. Considering what we’ve seen in the UK scene since NXT moved into town, fans of Japanese competition should keep a close eye on these happenings.