Last Wednesday, one of the first names announced to have been released from WWE was Karl Anderson along with his tag team partner Luke Gallows. Having previously been propped up as one of the top tag teams within WWE, this move shocked many, as they even had a presence in the main event of Wrestlemania alongside AJ Styles. The Boneyard Match might remain the last appearance in WWE for this team, as Karl Anderson seems to be returning to the place that made him a star, New Japan Pro Wrestling.
One Of The Most Successful Americans In New Japan Pro Wrestling History
While others like Kenny Omega, AJ Styles, Scott Norton and Brock Lesnar had more success than Karl Anderson, Anderson is still up there when it comes to gaijin talent. Well loved backstage, he has achieved some serious time as IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, holding the titles for a combined 1,165 days over four reigns, one with Giant Bernard and three with Luke Gallows. His reign with Giant Bernard as Bad Intentions lasted 564 days alone, the longest and most dominant in the belts history. The other people who have spent more time as tag team champion include 12 time champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan at 1,988 days, placing Anderson in elite company.
Beyond this, he also reached the finals of the 2012 G1 Climax, beating names like then IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Shelton Benjamin, Minoru Suzuki, and Yuji Nagata to win the A-Block, before losing to the winner of B-Block, Kazuchika Okada. Anderson would never get to hold a singles accolade within NJPW before leaving, but also etched his name in history as one of the original members of Bullet Club.
Karl Anderson To Become The Machine Gun Once Again
Twice in the past week, Karl Anderson has posted videos to his social media accounts teasing a return to New Japan Pro Wrestling. The first came just a day after his WWE release, showing Santa Monica, then a plane ride to Tokyo Japan, accompanied by clips of commentary from his matches in Japan before ending with Machine Gun, his old nickname. He has now doubled down on Instagram, posting a highlight reel of moments from NJPW & ROH along with his old theme song.
Luke Gallows has been teasing this himself, posting a picture of himself working out with the IWGP Tag Team Championship in front of him.
Are you excited to see Gallows & Anderson rejoin New Japan Pro Wrestling once their 90 day non-compete clause is up? Will they swerve us and go to All Elite Wrestling or resign to WWE alongside AJ Styles? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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