The title match is official.
On Tuesday, Karl Anderson announced he would be returning to NJPW to defend his NEVER Openweight Title at the December 14 NJPW World Tag League & Super Junior Tag League Finals. NJPW confirmed that Anderson will face Hikuleo, his originally scheduled opponent from November 5, which was canceled when Anderson was double booked and chose to compete at WWE Crown Jewel.
December 14 in Sendai, Karl Anderson will defend the NEVER Openweight Championship at the combined Super Junior and World Tag League finals against Hikuleo.
After defending the NEVER Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi on September 25 in Kobe, Hikuleo moved to be next in line. The match seemed set for November 5 at battle Autumn Osaka, but Anderson and partner Doc Gallows would suddenly appear on WWE Raw, before finding themselves ‘double booked’.
As the match had been made through the proper channels and advertised, NJPW moved to strip Anderson of the NEVER Openweight Championship, but Hikuleo refused to let the move happen, demanding that he fight Anderson for the title in an NJPW ring. On November 23 Japan time), Anderson posted a message on social media indicating that he and Gallows would be in Sendai on December 14, and the match has now been made official.
Will Anderson continue to hold NEVER gold hostage, or can Hikuleo bring the title home and to Hontai? Find out December 14!
Fightful Select has more details regarding Anderson's status with NJPW.
Fans can find updated standing from NJPW World Tag League and Super Junior Tag League by clicking here.
