Rocky Romero Comments On Situation Between Karl Anderson And NJPW

Karl Anderson's return to WWE has made for a "stressful" time getting the NEVER Openweight Champion's schedule in order, according to fellow NJPW star Rocky Romero.

Appearing on the latest episode of "The Sessions" podcast with Renée Paquette, Romero said when Anderson and his longtime tag team partner Luke Gallows told him WWE reached out, "I started to get nervous because we had a bunch of dates set" and Anderson was still champion.

"I got worried and said, 'You guys, just don't screw me over, please. I was part of the reason that you came back,'" Romero said. "Obviously they left on good terms and everything, but just to bring them back was definitely a part of that. Finally, [Anderson] was like, 'Okay, we're going to sign and somebody's going to have to talk to WWE.' And, of course, that means me having to talk to WWE. So, I got on the line and there was some confusion on the dates they were actually going to do [in NJPW]."

Once The Good Brothers returned to WWE in mid-October, scheduling mishaps began weeks later. Anderson notably missed his NJPW title defense against Hikuleo because of WWE's Saudi Arabia event, leading to a rare hall pass from NJPW, who let Anderson keep his title despite not showing up. "It started off real rocky," Romero said. "[We] just decided to turn it into a big angle because I thought that was the best way to deal with it, hoping that everything was going to work out but not really sure."

So far, it has. Anderson ultimately defended his title against Hikuleo last week and is now set to defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Tama Tonga, the man he won the title from in June, at next month's Wrestle Kingdom 17 event.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Sessions" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.