NJPW Star Wants To Compete In Royal Rumble

Even though the Royal Rumble has come and gone, there is someone from NJPW that is looking to compete in next year’s Rumble match.

The Royal Rumble match is notable for being full of surprises. There have been unexpected entrants over the decades and in some cases there were wrestlers from other companies.

In 1997, WWE worked with AAA which led to wrestlers Pierroth, Mil Mascaras, Latin Lover, and Cibernético appearing in that year’s Rumble. And in 2024, someone from New Japan wants to follow suit.

KAIRI, who now wrestles for both NJPW and Stardom, is hoping that by next year’s Rumble, it will be possible for outsiders to compete in the Rumble match just like they did in 1997.

Speaking with Steve Fall of WrestlingNews.co, KAIRI explained her position through a translator.

“Even now, the WWE Universe, they love KAIRI. Even the wrestlers are like, ‘Oh you’re coming to Royal Rumble this year, right? You’re coming, right?’ It’s her favorite PPV of the whole year. She definitely wants to one day wrestle in the Royal Rumble.

Vince [McMahon] said the door is always open, you’re always welcome to come back. If she comes back one day, she would love to team up with Asuka again, team up with IYO Sky, or maybe even go against IYO Sky. Who knows?”

WWE and NJPW haven’t had a formal working relationship since 1990 when WWE partnered with NJPW and AJPW for a one-night special Tokyo Dome show called Wrestling Summit.

That said, there have been a few cases of inter-company cooperation between WWE and NJPW, such as when Jushin Liger wrestled in NXT and this year as NJPW legend The Great Muta gets inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

h/t Fightful for the transcription