Karl Anderson Thanks NJPW Following Wrestle Kingdom Loss

Karl Anderson lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Tama Tonga at NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 17, ending his 206-day reign. Following his loss, Anderson tweeted out: "Thank You [Tama Tonga], thank you [NJPW]. Few will understand the love and admiration I have for the country, fans and the people of Japan. Thank U. See you down the road. Next stop: Birmingham, Alabama for [WWE] Monday Night Raw, January 9."

Since returning to WWE on the October 10, 2022 edition of "WWE Raw," Anderson has been working for both WWE and NJPW. Prior to Wrestle Kingdom 17, Anderson had a scheduling conflict with the two companies, as they both ran big shows on the same day. He wound up competing at WWE's Crown Jewel instead of NJPW's Battle Autumn. While champions are normally stripped in NJPW when they cannot make an announced title defense, Anderson remained NEVER Openweight Champion, and made up his match against Hikuleo a little over a month later on December 14.

Anderson's status with NJPW has not been confirmed, and he is not currently booked for any future events with the company. Since first making his way to NJPW in 2008, Anderson has found a massive amount of success as part of the Bullet Club, along with multiple accomplishments within the tag division — winning the IWGP World Tag Team Championship four times during his tenure. Anderson also had the honor of competing in the finals of 2012's G1 tournament, however he ultimately felt short, losing to Kazuchika Okada.