Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Chris Charlton-NJPW update (Patreon)

Published:
2025-01-06 20:44:13
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Chris Charlton has been suspended by NJPW.

Dave Meltzer reported today that NJPW commentator Chris Charlton was taking an indefinite hiatus after comments about AEW and Tony Khan. Among them was calling Tony Khan a "money mark" and criticizing AEW signing Okada, Will Ospreay and Switchblade Jay White and their use since.

Fightful Select has learned that it isn't a hiatus, and Charlton was actually suspended for two months. There were people on both sides of the coin backstage, praising him, but others that thought the comments were out of line. 

NJPW's claim is that AEW and Tony Khan did not have input on the suspension, but we've heard AEW was not happy about the comments.

Comments

Insomnia Inc

I assumed it was building to a more adversarial feeling for Forbidden Door and it may still be but some things he said were pretty screwed up like calling Shibata a Traitor.

Matt Castleberry

It seemed like part of the show, and theme of the show. If he was just going into business for himself the whole night, that's pretty crappy.

Kiasyon

Tony Khan bring him over for a few shows! Wasn't worse than anything Gabe Kidd said.

Keith

It was ridiculous , it was celebrating all companies involved and he was ra ra new Japan , news flash ….njpw needs this more then Aew needs this partnership , because other then a few guys they need to rebuild and use some of the Aew guys wisely ….

Ricardo Name TBD

I remember telling my discord, when he called TK a $mark for being able to offer fat bags, um... yeah dude. That's how pro athletics work. Literally everywhere. That was the only line I thought was unnecessary. Other than that, I didn't much care.

MB

I know Kidd's gimmick was anti-AEW, but it seemed as though Charlton was going into business for himself and took it too far.

Rob Sanderson

Most unprofessional commentary I've heard in quite some time.

I Blade Daily

I really thought Chris was working. Sounds like he's actually a total mark for himself. Wow.

Jamie

It's a fine line, I missed the Shibata comment TBF, I just thought he was doing the "heel" / bias commentator thing he's really pationate about NJPW maybe more so but we want commentator freedom just hope there's no long term implications

Vain Valor

I honestly didn't find anything wrong with it. It didn't seem like a big deal. It kinda felt like something a heel commentary guy would say, I thought it could've led to some good competition between the 2 brands. Kinda like a Smackdown vs Raw thing. Honestly I would be so down for a NJPW vs AEW type thing long term, even with a quarterly draft type situation where a segment of each roster is up to be drafted to either brand. I know it's tricky due to the distance, but I think having some level of competition even if it's in storyline is always a good way to heat things up.

Ryan

I don’t know how people can’t understand that bad mouthing your company’s biggest partner and key to the US market isn’t suspension worthy…

Alex B

I saw it as kayfabe and for that reason, I didn't have any issues with it. Helped sell the match. I daresay there's more to it though. I doubt he finished the show without anybody having a word in his ear and telling him to tone it down, or a professional discussion backstage.

Jerrod Hazelwood
>>160494837

I always got the impression that Forbidden Door wasn't really ever AEW vs NJPW. There's lots of matches that are a mix of people from both companies fighting together on a team.

patchyrick

I like Carlton but thought it sounded weird when he said Shibata “went into business for himself”, Okada was getting “$2mil to flip off crowds and not wrestle”, and that Jack Perry “realized he couldn’t be a white meat babyface” so I was already annoyed before the Kidd/Omega match started. I don’t care about taking jabs but I don’t think commentary should sound like an IWC troll. When he was straight up yelling about how Jay White has been booked was when I felt like he was airing personal grievances

TheMightyKyle

Charlton was simply parroting a very common sentiment among NJPW fans. With that said, you can't make comments like that on a broadcast unless you have a go ahead from higher ups. Personally, I thought it was entertaining and fed into the story of the Kidd/Omega match.

Insomnia Inc
>>160494837

its never been that way, it's always been a celebration of the partership and the awesome stuff they can and have done together. But then you have things like Tsuji calling out Okada, and Gabe Kidd and his stuff with AEW, and it feels like slow burn towards a more VS kind of show... or again people are venting frustrations which would be a shame.

Elaquent

He didn’t have to bury AEW to hype up NJPW. Going into business for himself while the AEW guys gave NJPW the best matches of the weekend lol

TheMightyKyle
>>160495350

I think most NJPW hardcores would only want Takeshita. NJPW fans aren't accustomed to being big brothered by a working partner and it doesn't feel good to them.

Keith Kripke

This isn't the first time he's said stuff like this. Fall of 2023 when he was doing solo shows after Kelly left & before Walker started he was shitting on AEW.

David C
>>160497578

The NJPW Reddit is one of the most worryingly, and surprisingly, tribal corners of the IWC.

CSDX

What does being a "money mark" even mean? Last I heard of it, Mat Dickie named his character in Wrestling Empire that and I only found out that it was based on TK when he put out an update for having a camera angle named CCTY footage with his version of CM Punk beating him up. Speaking of Mat, why in the holy Hell do people like that guy actually?

Dragmire

What an idiot. Its one thing of the wrestlers kayfabe (with possible legit feelings sprinkled in) and someone saying something on air that wasnt approved.

Chris Cobb

I watched show and couldn’t tell you a thing any of announcers said, I was watching matches lol

Sam Accardi
>>160496957

Rocky Romero literally told him to tone it down on commentary with him. Rocky works office for AEW, NJPW, and CMLL simultaneously.

Sam Accardi
>>160495506

I dunno. I really like Chris, but it felt out of place. It doesn’t feel out of place when Kidd does it. I can’t quite put my finger on why.

Mike

If the announcer is saying things about arrival, promoter or partner of the current company he is working for. Yet the comments that he was making are not part of a storyline..

P1eces
>>160497572

Shibata did essentially go into business for himself. He disregarded what was and was not allowed in the exhibition match he was a part of, which caused NJPW to essentially not use him.

P1eces

What he said played perfectly into the Kidd/Omega match and at best added to it and at worst was just background. Seemed to me he was just reinforcing the story that Kidd had been telling all along. Two months is nuts but that Japanese for ya.

P1eces

And then you got Schiavone with his tweet being professional as ever....it's like everyone is doing all they can to screw up a good thing.

patchyrick
>>160497572

I’m not talking about what Shibata did, I’m talking about using “shoot” terminology on commentary. There are 20 other ways to describe what Shibata did last time he wrestled for New Japan without sounding like a redditor

david gardner

Who cares. I used to remember when being a announcer meant you could say controversial things in wrestling. Wrestling fans and wrestling world has taken all the fun out of fake show about fighting and trash talking. The world is full of pussies

CSDX
>>160499831

Eh, I wouldn't say they're better. They're not exactly something that screams "good" when the guy that made them is constantly bashing every wrestling game in existence on social media as a weird tactic to push his game. Ntm you can outright kiII people in the game(something I've seen a concerning amount of posts about in the Wrestling Empire subreddit) and he recently added in dismemberment as a thing you can do to other wrestlers. Last I checked, Mat also seems to support hateful ideals, which on its own is bad enough.

fightful
>>160513002

David. Don't be a fucking goof. He completely broke kayfabe in a country that values their professional relationships. Stop trying to make it "zomg woke pussies"