Noah Had Concerns About AEW Before Booking Shinsuke Nakamura - Exclusive

Pro Wrestling Noah wanted to make sure everything was copacetic with AEW before they officially booked WWE's Shinsuke Nakamura to face The Great Muta, and a well-known wrestling manager helped make it happen. Dominic DeAngelo of Wrestling Inc. has learned that it was Paul "Triple H" Levesque who contacted Noah to make sure the opportunity with Muta was still available, and it was Sonny Oono whom Noah reached out to regarding any issues.

"Noah wanted to protect the newly developing relationship with AEW," Oono stated, playing the role of facilitator. "I made sure they were no objections from various promotions."

After it was confirmed both parties had no qualms, the match was on for Noah's New Year 2023 event on January 1 at Budokan Hall, part of Muta's retirement tour. Nakamura has stated that there was some pushback within WWE after he requested the match, but he was eventually given the thumbs up by the new regime. The agreement became official on October 26.

Muta has had an extremely memorable farewell tour so far, as he was a surprise appearance during AEW's "Grand Slam" week, saving Sting from being attacked by The House of Black during a tag match on "AEW Rampage."  Following Muta's fight with Nakamura, Muta and Sting are set to team up on January 22, 2023, for Noah's Great Muta Final Bye-Bye, another partnership Oono helped bring together.

"Sting joining together on Muta's last event was a wish of Muta," Oono said, who thinks it's great for wrestling when you break down barriers. "I'm glad I could help make it possible!"