Charlie Dempsey’s time in Japan may have been brief, but the WWE NXT wrestler believes it changed the way he views himself in the ring.
Dempsey recently reflected on his All Japan Pro Wrestling appearances during an interview on Busted Open, describing the opportunity to work in the promotion and challenge for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship as an “incredible experience.” The excursion took place across late 2023 and early 2024 while Dempsey was working under WWE contract, giving him a rare chance to step outside the NXT environment and compete in a setting closely connected to the wrestling style he has long admired.
For Dempsey, who is the son of William Regal and has established himself as one of NXT’s most technically driven performers, the appeal of All Japan went beyond the prestige of the championship match. It offered a direct connection to the King’s Road tradition that helped define the promotion’s most celebrated era.
“It wasn’t talked about much but, in the beginning of 2024, while working for NXT, they had me go over to wrestle for All Japan, for the Triple Crown Championship, and I thought that was an incredible experience,” Dempsey said. “Because that ’90s King’s Road-style wrestling has always been some of my favorite of all time.”
For more background on this topic, read Leon Slater Credits WWE NXT Run With Helping Him Become TNA World Champion.
King’s Road wrestling, particularly the style associated with All Japan through the 1990s, remains a major influence on generations of wrestlers. The era was defined by escalating intensity, punishing strikes, dramatic counters and major championship bouts built around endurance, physicality and a sense of competitive struggle. Dempsey specifically named two of the style’s defining figures, Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa, while explaining what the Triple Crown title represented to him.
“Watching people like Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa, all those, and then being able to wrestle for that title that meant so much to them and was always such a big deal while working for WWE,” he said.
The Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship remains one of Japanese wrestling’s most historically significant prizes. Its lineage includes many of the names who shaped All Japan’s identity, making Dempsey’s title challenge against Katsuhiko Nakajima a meaningful milestone even in defeat. Nakajima, a hard-hitting veteran with a decorated career across Japanese wrestling, provided Dempsey with the kind of opponent and atmosphere that fit the young wrestler’s stated appreciation for intense, physical bouts.
Korakuen Hall Dream Became Reality
Beyond the championship stakes, Dempsey emphasized the importance of competing at Korakuen Hall. The Tokyo venue is among the most revered buildings in professional wrestling, having hosted landmark events and countless pivotal matches for Japanese promotions over several decades. For wrestlers who grew up studying Japanese wrestling, performing there can carry a significance that goes well beyond a typical tour stop.
Dempsey said he and Nakajima headlined Korakuen Hall, a personal goal he had long hoped to achieve. More importantly, he feels the experience gave him a clearer understanding of how much he could bring to his work when allowed to fully embrace that level of intensity.
“It made me feel more confident,” Dempsey said. “It made me realize that I may have been holding back on certain things. But once I did that style there and again, we main evented Korakuen Hall, which was always a dream of mine. That was the venue to go to.”
That realization appears to be the lasting takeaway from the trip. Dempsey said the Japan run pushed him to stop approaching his matches with restraint and instead commit completely to his performance. While he did not identify specific elements he felt he had been holding back, his comments point to a wrestler who came away from the experience with renewed belief in his own instincts.
“Again, made me feel more confident, made me realize I can do this,” Dempsey continued. “I can go out there and just kill it out there, and that’s what I need to do. I need to stop holding back and then just put my everything into it whenever I’m in the ring.”
It is a notable perspective from a performer who has already developed a distinct in-ring identity in NXT. Dempsey’s style has leaned heavily into grappling, submissions, holds and the kind of deliberate control that reflects both his family background and his own training. His work in All Japan offered a different stage for those qualities, one in which physical escalation and the pursuit of a definitive finish are central parts of the match structure.
The WWE and Japanese wrestling relationship has periodically created opportunities for talent to gain experience outside the company’s usual system, though Dempsey’s All Japan run stood out because of the Triple Crown match and the opponents involved. His reflections suggest the value of the arrangement was not simply exposure to a new audience. It was validation that his preferred approach could connect in a place where that wrestling tradition is deeply valued.
Matches With Nakajima, Suzuki and Fujinami
Dempsey’s time with All Japan included far more than the contest with Nakajima. He also had the opportunity to wrestle Hideki Suzuki, a competitor Dempsey considers one of his personal favorites. Suzuki previously spent time in NXT under the name Hachiman, and Dempsey had been able to train with him during that period.
“I was also able to wrestle Hideki Suzuki who used to be here in NXT as Hachiman, who, one of my favorite wrestlers of all time,” Dempsey said. “I’ve always admired him. Got to train with him a few times when he was here at NXT.”
That history added another layer to their match. Rather than entering the ring with a complete stranger, Dempsey was competing with someone whose work he had followed and whose training influence he had already experienced. Suzuki’s reputation as a precise, rugged technician made him a natural opponent for Dempsey, whose own matches often revolve around positional battles and the search for a punishing submission or decisive throw.
Perhaps the most remarkable name on Dempsey’s list of opponents was Tatsumi Fujinami. A WWE Hall of Famer and one of the most influential Japanese wrestlers of his generation, Fujinami has remained active deep into a career that spans decades. Dempsey said he was able to wrestle Fujinami when the legend was 70 years old.
“Got to wrestle Tatsumi Fujinami, who’s a WWE Hall of Famer and again, one of my all-time favorite wrestlers,” Dempsey said. “He was 70 years old when I wrestled him.”
Dempsey also recalled a direct instruction from Fujinami before the match. The veteran asked for physicality, and Dempsey was left impressed by his response after receiving a strike.
“The one thing he said to me before the match was, ‘Hit me hard,’” Dempsey said. “And I remember smoking him with a strike and he just stayed still.”
The exchange captures the type of lesson Dempsey appeared to take from Japan: confidence does not necessarily mean abandoning discipline or technique. It can mean trusting the intensity of the match, trusting an opponent, and accepting the responsibility that comes with presenting a contest as a fight.
What the Experience Could Mean for Dempsey in NXT
Dempsey is now in his fourth year with the NXT brand, where his role has continued to evolve. He is currently aligned with the BirthRight faction alongside Lexis King, Uriah Connors, Arianna Grace and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo. The group has given Dempsey a new on-screen setting, but his comments on the All Japan run make clear that his individual development remains rooted in his ambition to become a more complete and forceful wrestler.
His Japan appearances also underline the breadth of experience Dempsey has accumulated at a relatively early stage of his WWE career. The ability to wrestle Nakajima for the Triple Crown, share the ring with Suzuki, and face Fujinami at Korakuen Hall is not a conventional path for an NXT performer. Dempsey recognizes that unusual opportunity as a defining moment rather than a side note.
For an athlete with clear reverence for wrestling history, the chance to compete in All Japan carried emotional weight. For Dempsey’s ongoing NXT career, the more immediate impact may be internal. He returned from the trip convinced that he can perform at the level he has envisioned for himself—and determined to bring more of that conviction to every match.
Whether that confidence translates into future title opportunities or a larger role within NXT remains to be seen. What is clear is that Dempsey views his All Japan tour as a turning point. The Triple Crown challenge did not result in a championship victory, but it gave him something he considers just as important: the assurance that he no longer needs to hold anything back once the bell rings.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.