NOAH Reportedly Restricted On How To Advertise WWE's Shinsuke Nakamura

Pro Wrestling NOAH will play host to Shinsuke Nakamura as he battles the Great Muta, but it will be with some limitations. Nakamura will face the wrestling legend on January 1, 2023 at Budokan Hall in Japan, but according to Dave Meltzer in the latest "Wrestling Observer Newsletter," the art of promotion won't totally have free reign.

Nakamura was obviously cleared to be on the match graphic, in the promo video, and included in the press release, but there will be restrictions moving forward, specifically when it comes to advertising the match outside of Japan and in English. One of those restrictions is that WWE should not be mentioned further en route to promote the match. Despite that, NOAH will be allowed to stream the match live on Abema.

A Nakamura interview with Tokyo Sports revealed that getting this match to become official was a tedious process over the course of several months. Nakamura mentioned that he initially received pushback when it came to wanting this monumental bout to happen, but the boundaries of leniency changed when Paul "Triple H" Levesque took over as the Head Of Talent Relations. It was reported by Wrestling Inc. that Levesque was the one who made the call to NOAH to make sure the match was still a possibility and that it was famed WCW manager Sonny Onoo who helped facilitate all the parties involved, including AEW. An agreement to the fight was officially made on October 26. Muta's farewell tour will not just include famed WWE talent, but a fellow pro wrestling legend in AEW. Muta will also team up with Sting in a six-man tag for his last match on January 23.