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WWE star and current NEVER Openweight Champion Karl Anderson recently took to Twitter to taunt former Bullet Club member Hikuleo.
Anderson was initially scheduled to defend his title against his former stablemate at the upcoming NJPW Battle Autumn show on November 5. However, The Good Brothers' recent return to WWE has led them to get booked for the Crown Jewel Premium Live Event on the same day.
The Machine Gun has confirmed that despite the conflict in booking, he will only be appearing in Saudi Arabia and won't be in Japan to defend his NEVER Openweight Title.
Taking to Twitter, he taunted Hikuleo by tweeting a picture of the Openweight title and captioned it with a kiss emoji. He also tagged the challenger.
Bullet Club member Karl Anderson was warned by New Japan Pro-Wrestling management
Taking to their official website, New Japan Pro-Wrestling recently released a statement regarding Karl Anderson and the status of the NEVER Openweight Championship.
The company asked Anderson to vacate his NEVER Openweight Title after failing to negotiate with the 42-year-old. They also clarified that contrary to Luke Gallows' (a.k.a. Doc Gallows) claims, the promotion went through the appropriate channels to get Karl Anderson booked on Battle Autumn.
"NJPW has for the past several days attempted to negotiate with Anderson, but has not been met with a response. Should Anderson decide to renege on his scheduled championship match, he will be required to vacate the NEVER Openweight Championship and return the title belt to NJPW immediately."
Anderson returned to Japan earlier this year when he and Luke Gallows set their sights on Tama Tonga and his NEVER Openweight Title. At Dominion 6.12, he defeated his former Bullet Club stablemate to win the title.
As it stands, Anderson is scheduled to team up with Gallows and AJ Styles as The O.C. prepare to face The Judgment Day at Crown Jewel. On the latest edition of RAW, Anderson faced former Bullet Club partner Finn Balor in a losing effort after interference from the heelish group.
It goes without saying that The O.C. will be raring to go at the Saudi Arabia event and exact their revenge on Balor and co.
What do you make of the situation surrounding Karl Anderson and the NJPW Title? Let us know in the comments section below.
