Rocky Romero Talks Omega, NJPW; NXT Backstage Details, European round up

NXT Backstage Notes

Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan has learned the following details about this week’s NXT.

- D’Von Dudley did not get physical during his appearance as he is not medically cleared for physicality. 

- The internal name for this week’s show was "November to Remember".

- As with many surprises in NXT, a stand-in was used for Rhyno during rehearsals for Ava’s announcement segment. 

- Despite concerns prior to the announcement of NXT Deadline, there was said to be ‘no danger’ of the PLE losing a spot on the NXT calendar.

- As with other shows on the road for NXT, there were no Level Up matches taped at the 2300 Arena. 

European Round Up

- Those we spoke to in OTT were said to be ‘delighted’ with the main event of their Tenth Anniversary show, with talent expressing how positive the atmosphere was in the National Stadium on October 26th.

- Michael Oku suffered a suspected broken nose during last Sunday’s RevPro Live In London show. However, he did finish his match with Ethan Allen at the show.

- Rhio is set to begin her tour of the United States next week. As we previously reported, we have heard of multiple promotions having interest in working with her during her tour.

- We have interviews coming to Fightful and Fightful Scraps with Connor Mills, Charli Evans

Rocky Romero

Fightful Select interviewed Rocky Romero, Vice President of Show and Talent Coordination for NJPW. Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp and Romero discussed numerous topics, from the recent incident with Gabe Kidd and Kenny Omega to Wrestle Dream.

Sean begins the interview by jokingly asking Rocky how many companies he has cashed a check from in the past month. Rocky tells Sean, “Quite a few,” and then follows up by saying it is a very special time in the business with many companies working together. He says helping to bring that into fruition is pretty cool and hopes it will be part of his wrestling legacy.

Sean mentions he received footage from someone featuring Gabe Kidd and Kenny Omega backstage incident at  NJPW Power Struggle 2024. Sean would ask Rocky his thoughts on the matter and his opinion of Gabe Kidd. Rocky addressed the incident first, saying, “This is something that does not happen very often in New Japan.” He added that he is a little disappointed with the way it all went down.

The former CMLL World Historic Welterweight Champion said, “I understand Gabe and always wanting to interject himself into things that don’t have anything to do with him.” He added that Gabe is a unique talent and compares his selling of pro wrestling to UFC’s Conor McGregor. He says Gabe is very special and will be a major star. Rocky believes Gabe will be paying a heavy fine for what happened.

Sean mentions that this was the first time we have seen Kenny Omega get physical in quite some time. Sean follows up by saying that people were asking why Kenny appeared in New Japan first instead of AEW. Rocky tells Sean that he believes New Japan is very special to Kenny and that Kenny knows how important New Japan is to him. Rocky would also add that Kenny has been influential in the relationship between AEW and New Japan since day one. He does not believe this takes away from Omega returning to New Japan instead of AEW.

The topic of Wrestle Dynasty came up, and Sean asked about the process of putting the show together. Rocky said it was very similar to Forbidden Door in terms of putting it together. He added that it has been going smoothly. Rocky hopes that Wrestle Dynasty is one of the greatest PPVs ever and mentions working closely with Tony Khan and the booking committee of New Japan. He says the relationship between the companies will last for a long time.

Rocky further explains the significance of these partnerships, indicating that collaboration between NJPW, AEW, and other promotions strengthens wrestling. He adds context to moves by NJPW stars like Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay to AEW, noting that talent transitions are more complex than simply being lured by money.

When navigating the relationship between the various companies, Rocky is hopeful about trying new collaborations as long as the circumstances are good and leadership across organizations is open to working together. He acknowledges that leadership changes within promotions can affect these partnerships, with some regimes being more supportive of alliances than others.

The topic of Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling came up with Sean mentioning that Rocky worked the event.  They highlight the high-quality talent pool that owner Scott D’Amore created, and he believes Maple Leaf Pro could be a strong partner. Rocky notes that they talked to D’Amore about some potential projects that they might be able to do next year.

Sean asks about the planning for the larger shows that feature AEW talent. Rocky mentions that coordination is involved, such as meetings with Tony Khan and New Japan executives, and discusses scheduling considerations. He said the process of planning the show began over ten months ago.

Sean humorously asks Rocky why he slammed the Forbidden Door on Mercedes Moné. Rocky laughs and says it was due to a mix-up. Rocky adds the chaos of handling the situation while jet-lagged in Japan. 

In closing, Sean mentions that he enjoys looking at a person’s Cagematch.net history. Sean noted that Rocky had a match against Frankie Kazarian and Nova (Simon Dean) in 2000; Sean mentioned John Cena was on the same show. Rocky says he remembers pretty vividly when Cena started. Rocky noted that the gym was 24/7 and that Cena was always there.

You can follow Rocky Romero on Instagram, Threads, or X at @azucarroc.