WWE’s Karl Anderson loses NEVER title at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17

Tama Tonga is the new NEVER Openweight Champion, defeating WWE’s Karl Anderson at Wrestle Kingdom 17 Wednesday morning.

Anderson cheap shotted Tonga at the start of the match, hitting him with the NEVER title. The finish of the match had Tama Tonga hit Anderson with a gun stun off the middle rope, then connected with a second gun stun to win the title for the second time. It was Anderson who defeated Tonga back on June 12 at Dominion.

Anderson, along with Luke Gallows, returned to WWE in October despite Anderson being NEVER Openweight Champion. A scheduled match against Hikuleo on November 5 was postponed, with the storyline reason being Anderson claiming he wasn’t booked through the proper channels, instead working WWE’s Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. The match instead took place at the World Tag League/Super Junior Tag League finals, where Anderson defeated Hikuelo.

After the match, Tama Tonga came out and challenged Anderson. The two brawled, with Anderson laying out Tonga.