Report: NJPW Schedule Could Keep Several AEW Stars Out Of Blood & Guts

AEW’s Blood & Guts is scheduled for Wednesday, November 4 in Jacksonville, Florida, but a handful of the promotion’s biggest names could be unavailable for the two-ring steel cage spectacle because of commitments in Japan the night before.

NJPW’s Power Struggle 2026 takes place on November 3, just one day ahead of Blood & Guts, and several Death Riders members are deeply involved in that card. Jon Moxley announced at NJPW’s King of Pro Wrestling event that he’s returning to the promotion, and he’s since been booked to team with Wheeler Yuta against Shingo Takagi and Jeff Cobb of Unbound Co. at Power Struggle. On that same show, Gabe Kidd is set to defend the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship against Taichi in Hiroshima. That means three core members of the Death Riders faction — the group many expect to anchor the Blood & Guts cage match — have a full night of business in Japan less than 24 hours before AEW’s show begins.

Nick Wayne, fresh off a second straight win over Chris Jericho at WrestleDream, is also tied up overseas. He’s paired with KUSHIDA in NJPW’s Super Jr. Tag League, a tournament running through Power Struggle on November 3, which puts his availability for Blood & Guts in serious question given the turnaround.

Then there’s Will Ospreay, who has juggled dual AEW and NJPW commitments throughout 2026. After he, HENARE and Great-O-Khan dropped the NEVER Openweight Six-Man titles — er, tag titles — to Jeff Cobb and The Knockout Brothers at King of Pro Wrestling, Ospreay found himself in a post-match confrontation with Callum Newman and has since challenged for the IWGP Tag Team Championships. With Newman tabbed as Cobb’s partner for that title defense at Power Struggle, AEW’s reigning World Champion may also be stuck overseas as Blood & Guts gets underway.

None of this has been confirmed as official by AEW, and it’s entirely possible travel logistics work out in time for some or all of these names to appear. But the overlap is striking: Blood & Guts has always leaned on the Death Riders as a centerpiece, and if Moxley, Yuta and Kidd are mid-flight from a NJPW show just hours earlier, Tony Khan’s creative team will need a contingency plan for one of the promotion’s signature annual matches.

It also raises a broader question about how AEW handles its growing working relationship with NJPW. Cross-promotion has produced great matches and storylines all year, but scheduling crunches like this one show the real cost of split rosters and international travel. Expect clarity on who’s actually walking into that cage to firm up as November 4 approaches — and don’t be shocked if AEW adjusts the Blood & Guts teams accordingly if the Japan commitments can’t be worked around.