Last week, WWE unexpectedly opened its own Forbidden Door and began a working relationship with All Japan Pro Wrestling. In a bizarre video, AJPW President Tsuyoki Fukuda revealed that the next challenger for the promotion’s Triple Crown Championship will be a star from WWE NXT. A few days later, William Regal made his first public appearance since leaving AEW to announce that that challenger would be his son, and current No Quarter Catch Club member, Charlie Dempsey.
It appears All Japan isn’t the only Japanese partner WWE has its sights set on, however, as Dave Meltzer reports in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the company has expressed interest in working with World Wonder Ring Stardom. At the time of writing, it’s unknown what exactly a relationship between the two promotions would entail. Aside from being arguably the biggest Joshi promotion in the world, Stardom is also where several of WWE’s current female stars initially made their names including WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY, Kairi Sane, and Blair Davenport.
Aside from their partnership with All Japan, WWE also worked with Pro Wrestling NOAH earlier this year. As part of a deal between the two companies, Shinsuke Nakamura had a one-off match at NOAH’s The New Year 2023 back in January where he faced Keiji Muto in his final singles match as The Great Muta. Muto subsequently made two WWE appearances, first at the WWE Hall of Fame as an inductee in the Class of 2023 and later at WWE Payback, where he was ringside for Nakamura challenging World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins in the show’s main event.
The news of a potential partnership between WWE and Stardom comes following reports over the last few months that NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Giulia, one of the latter’s top stars, could be headed to WWE in the near future. In an update on her status heading into 2024, Meltzer also noted that she is likely headed to WWE once her Stardom contract expires in March but may not appear in WWE right away. Aside from her NJPW Strong title, Giulia is also one-third of the current Artist of Stardom champions alongside Mai Sakurai and Thekla.