Tony Khan reacts to historic title reign ending at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18
AEW CEO and President Tony Khan has expressed his thoughts on the end of a historic title reign at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18.
At Wrestle Kingdom 18, Zack Sabre Jr. put his NJPW World TV Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi. After some back-and-forth action, the New Japan Pro-Wrestling President surprised everyone by defeating Sabre Jr. and ending his remarkable title reign.
For those unaware, Sabre Jr. won the gold at the Wrestle Kingdom 17 pay-per-view in 2023. He reigned supreme in a 16-man tournament and had several incredible title defenses during his run.
On Twitter, Tony Khan praised Tanahashi and Zack Sabre Jr. for their incredible performances. He also congratulated the NJPW President for being crowned the new World TV Champion.
"Congratulations @tanahashi1_100! What a @njpwworld TV Title match @zacksabrejr v Tanahashi #njwk18! What a reign for ZSJ, one of the planet's best wrestlers who established the title defending it in so many great matches worldwide! What a win for Tana, they tore the house down."
Tony Khan on his promotion's relationship with NJPW
Before the 2023 AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door pay-per-view, Tony Khan commented on his company's partnership with New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
On the Pacific Rim Pro Wrestling podcast, Khan said the following about All Elite Wrestling's relationship with the Japanese promotion:
“Our strongest promotional partnership is New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The partnership is year-round. It’s outside of Forbidden Door. We team up on video, we have AEW footage available on New Japan World, and New Japan makes their stars available to us in NJPW and to Ring of Honor, which is great to bring that partnership with New Japan and Ring of Honor back because they have so much history together." [H/T TJRWrestling]
The partnership between the two major promotions continues to go strong and will likely lead to many more talent crossovers in the future.