Released WWE Superstar is open to taking Karl Anderson’s place in NJPW

Former WWE Superstar Matt Cardona (fka Zack Ryder) has offered to take Karl Anderson's spot at Battle Autumn in Japan in case the latter does not show up at the upcoming NJPW event.

The Bullet Club member was recently issued an ultimatum by the Japanese promotion after he made it clear that he'll be wrestling at Crown Jewel on November 5 instead of the NJPW event. The ultimatum stated that Karl will be required to vacate the NEVER Openweight Championship if he does not defend it at Battle Autumn.

Amidst all the chaos surrounding the title, Matt Cardona came forward to suggest himself as a replacement for Anderson. The former WWE star responded to the NJPW account on Twitter, stating that he needs another title and wouldn't mind taking Karl's place

"I’ll take his spot. I need another title anyway. Let me know,"- he tweeted

I’ll take his spot. I need another title anyway. Let me know. 😎 twitter.com/njpwglobal/sta…

Matt Cardona has wrestled for a number of promotions since he was released from the Stamford-based promotion in 2020. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling and NWA and holds championships for multiple other Independent promotions.

WWE Superstar Karl Anderson responded to NJPW's ultimatum

Karl Anderson recently made his return to WWE alongside tag team partner Luke Gallows. The return shocked many fans as Karl and Luke were still associated with NJPW, with the former even being the NEVER Openweight Champion for the Japanese promotion.

The duo joined AJ Styles in his feud against The Judgment Day. A six-man tag team match was then set-up for Crown Jewel on November 5, the same date NJPW will host its Battle Autumn event where Anderson is booked to defend his title against Hikuleo.

The Machine Gun has made it clear that he has no intentions of flying to Japan for now. In a reply to NJPW's ultimatum, he said:

"I'm not vacating anything. I'm the greatest Never Openweight Champion of all time. I'll defend it on my time ….. get with my booking agent [Luke Gallows]. "I'll see ya then, Hikuleo. That's too sweet.

I’m not vacating anything.
I’m the greatest #NeverOpenweightChampion of all time.
I’ll defend it on my time ….. get with my booking agent @The_BigLG
I’ll see ya then @Hiku_Leo 😘
That’s #TooSweet twitter.com/hiku_leo/statu…

Karl Anderson was released from WWE in 2020 along with several other superstars because of budget cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned to his old hunting ground earlier this month and recently wrestled in his first match since coming back.