Tony Khan Confirms Pro Wrestling NOAH Reached Out Before Booking Shinsuke Nakamura

Partnerships are a fragile thing in pro wrestling, with so much pride and money on the table it seemingly takes very little to end a partnership so it’s often best to proceed lightly with any union.

One burgeoning relationship is that between AEW and Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan, with NOAH’s Great Muta recently showing up in an AEW ring to save old partner/rival Sting from the House of Black at AEW Grand Slam in September.

With Muta/Keiji Muto in the midst of a farewell tour, NOAH are working with several top promotions around the world to give the puro legend the send-off he deserves, even managing to get WWE to send Shinsuke Nakamura for an upcoming bout with Muta in January 2023.

Reports surfaced that NOAH had reached out to AEW’s Tony Khan to make sure that a move for a contracted WWE star wouldn’t be a problem, and Khan confirmed such talks during a recent interview with Sports Illustrated:

“Yes. I have no problem with Nakamura working with them. It’s completely cool with us. This is about Muta. It’s great that wrestlers from all over the world can come together and pay tribute to Muta,” said Khan.

The Great Muta will face Shinsuke Nakamura on January 1 at Budokan Hall.