Chris Charlton-NJPW update
Added 2025-01-06 20:44:13 +0000 UTCChris 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
He’s not a heel commentator though.
Les Owens
2025-01-08 02:20:35 +0000 UTCbreaking kayfabe did not
Fightful Select
2025-01-07 20:47:11 +0000 UTCDavid. 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"
Fightful Select
2025-01-07 20:46:57 +0000 UTCEh, 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.
CSDX
2025-01-07 04:02:46 +0000 UTCWho 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
david gardner
2025-01-06 23:45:02 +0000 UTCI’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
patchyrick
2025-01-06 23:39:59 +0000 UTCAnd 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.
P1eces
2025-01-06 22:15:59 +0000 UTCWhat 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
2025-01-06 22:12:41 +0000 UTCShibata 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
2025-01-06 22:07:33 +0000 UTCIf 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..
Mike
2025-01-06 22:00:43 +0000 UTCI 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.
Sam Accardi
2025-01-06 21:59:27 +0000 UTCRocky Romero literally told him to tone it down on commentary with him. Rocky works office for AEW, NJPW, and CMLL simultaneously.
Sam Accardi
2025-01-06 21:58:27 +0000 UTCI watched show and couldn’t tell you a thing any of announcers said, I was watching matches lol
Chris Cobb
2025-01-06 21:56:41 +0000 UTCWhat an idiot. Its one thing of the wrestlers kayfabe (with possible legit feelings sprinkled in) and someone saying something on air that wasnt approved.
Dragmire
2025-01-06 21:47:42 +0000 UTCWhy don’t you like him? His game is better than both AAA titles in terms of gameplay.
Philip John Basile
2025-01-06 21:42:25 +0000 UTCWhat 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?
CSDX
2025-01-06 21:33:50 +0000 UTCThe NJPW Reddit is one of the most worryingly, and surprisingly, tribal corners of the IWC.
David C
2025-01-06 21:33:02 +0000 UTCThis 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.
Keith Kripke
2025-01-06 21:25:29 +0000 UTCI 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.
TheMightyKyle
2025-01-06 21:17:23 +0000 UTCHe 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
Elaquent
2025-01-06 21:14:19 +0000 UTCits 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.
Insomnia Inc
2025-01-06 21:13:34 +0000 UTCCharlton 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.
TheMightyKyle
2025-01-06 21:12:13 +0000 UTCI 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
patchyrick
2025-01-06 21:12:11 +0000 UTCI 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.
Jerrod Hazelwood
2025-01-06 21:07:02 +0000 UTCI 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.
Alex B
2025-01-06 21:06:46 +0000 UTCI 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…
Ryan
2025-01-06 21:02:25 +0000 UTCI 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.
Vain Valor
2025-01-06 20:57:41 +0000 UTCIt'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
Jamie
2025-01-06 20:56:57 +0000 UTCI really thought Chris was working. Sounds like he's actually a total mark for himself. Wow.
I Blade Daily
2025-01-06 20:56:56 +0000 UTCMost unprofessional commentary I've heard in quite some time.
Rob Sanderson
2025-01-06 20:56:18 +0000 UTCOne was planned the other wasn't.
Terry Agallion
2025-01-06 20:54:53 +0000 UTCI know Kidd's gimmick was anti-AEW, but it seemed as though Charlton was going into business for himself and took it too far.
MB
2025-01-06 20:53:33 +0000 UTCI 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.
Ricardo Name TBD
2025-01-06 20:52:41 +0000 UTCIt 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 ….
Keith
2025-01-06 20:52:20 +0000 UTCTony Khan bring him over for a few shows! Wasn't worse than anything Gabe Kidd said.
Kiasyon
2025-01-06 20:51:09 +0000 UTCIt 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.
Matt Castleberry
2025-01-06 20:50:06 +0000 UTCI 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.
Insomnia Inc
2025-01-06 20:47:27 +0000 UTC
