Kushida Leaves WWE NXT
Japanese star had not won tag match this year, NXT singles bout in 10 months.
Once one of NXT's more celebrated signings, Kushida has departed from NXT.
Fightful Select reports that earlier indications are that the one-time former NXT Cruiserweight Champion's contract has expired, rather than being released due to budget cuts, though one source believed that to be the reason. WWE.com already has moved Kushida's bio to the "WWE Alumni" section on its roster page.
Signed to NXT in 2019, Kushida was a decorated international superstar from New Japan Pro Wrestling who seemed targeted for success with the company, especially after capturing the Cruiserweight title in April 2021. But the brand's reboot to NXT 2.0 saw the purple title merged with the North American Championship and Kushida inexplicably shunted into a comedy tag team with Ikemen Jiro known as Jacket Time.
Fans can discuss whether they believe Jacket Time and how it was portrayed fell back on ethnic stereotypes, but it's save to say that Kushida was never really given a chance to succeed in NXT 2.0. He hadn't won a singles match on NXT since June 2021 and Jacket Time hadn't won a tag match since December.
Kushida's last appearance came on last week's NXT 2.0 when he was scheduled to take on Von Wagner but was jumped backstage and powerbombed offscreen. Instead, Jiro (who also was jumped) stumbled out to take the match and lost to Wagner.