Report: Kushida's Plans For NJPW Return Revealed
Kushida is expected to rejoin NJPW following his WWE exit
Apr 22, 2022
With Kushida recently leaving WWE due to his contract expiring, many within the wrestling industry assumed it was only a matter of time before Kushida made his way back to New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Now, a report from Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter suggests that Kushida already has plans for a potential NJPW return:
“New Japan has expected him [Kushida] back for some time since everyone could see very early in the run that he basically wasted three years of his prime doing almost nothing. At the time he left he wanted to try WWE while still in his prime and he wasn’t a New Japan dojo guy so he didn’t have the company loyalty that a lot of the talent there has.”
Meltzer also suggested that Kushida will change his character upon his return, writing “He does want to be a different character going back and work with the higher-profile guys.”
With Kushida already having six runs with the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship, two runs with the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight tag Titles (with Alex Shelley), as well as the Super J Cup in 2016, and two wins in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, there is little that Kushida hasn’t done in the division, so a transition to NJPW's heavyweight division doesn’t seem out of the question.
