NJPW Facing Significant Talent Exodus?
NJPW faces a number of significant contract expirations coming up.
A number of significant NJPW wrestler contracts are either due to expire soon or have already elapsed, with several wrestlers working without being tied to new deals.
Kazuchika Okada's situation is well known, with SI reporting in December that the 'Rainmaker' was to become a free agent towards the end of January, creating speculation on a potential WWE jump. Elsewhere, fellow NJPW stalwart Tama Tonga has claimed January will be his final month in Japan.
Now, Fightful Select reports that three Bullet Club War Dogs members - Clark Connors, Alex Coughlin, and Gabe Kidd - may all be in a similar boat.
Connors has reportedly been working without a contract. Whether or not the two parties have come to a new agreement is currently unclear, though they have been in active negotiations. Coughlin's NJPW deal expires later this month - and there's no word on if he has been approached regarding a renewal. Kidd, meanwhile, also has a January expiry date.
NJPW has just announced a 10-person cage match pitting Bullet Club War Dogs against United Empire's Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, HENARE, TJP, and Francesco Akira for its 11 February event, The New Beginning in Osaka. As things stand, Connors, Coughlin, and Kidd will contest that match as free agents. It'll also be Ospreay's final night in NJPW ahead of starting with AEW full-time.