NJPW Interested In Baron Corbin

As we continue to take our first steps into 2025, could this be the year that Baron Corbin gets a run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling? Crazier things have happened...

Per Fightful Select, Tom Pestock - the man WWE fans know as Baron Corbin - is someone who NJPW has shown interest in bringing in. So much so, there has been contact between the two parties, although it's not known how serious these talks have been at this stage.

With several New Japan talents' existing contracts soon to expire, and with noted outside interest in some of these stars, the promotion is looking at new names it could bring in. And on that front, the former WWE United States Champion appears to be a name being considered.

Despite reports he'd been released by WWE back in November, 1 January saw Tom Pestock take to X to confirm he was now officially a free agent. As the 40-year-old former footballer explained, he hadn't actually been released by WWE last year, but more it was a case of them opting not to renew his contract, which subsequently expired at the turn of 2025.

Most recently, Pestock was backstage at AEW Worlds End last month, where he - along with TNA Wrestling's AJ Francis - was visiting friends.

Baron Corbin's Time With WWE

With an extensive background in football and boxing, Tom Pestock signed with WWE in 2012 and was soon given the Baron Corbin moniker. By 2014, Corbin was a mainstay of NXT programming, amassing quite the impressive run of squash match victories as he developed his Lone Wolf persona.

Corbin would make his main roster debut in spectacular fashion, winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32. The very next night would see him turn up on WWE Raw, attacking Dolph Ziggler and formally becoming a part of the red brand's roster.

Subsequent years would see Baron Corbin become Constable Corbin, King Corbin, Happy Corbin, switch between Raw, SmackDown, and even back to NXT, and win the United States Championship, partner with Bron Breakker to win the NXT Tag Team Championships and Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, and win the Money in the Bank briefcase in 2017 - infamously failing with his cash-in attempt on then-WWE Champion Jinder Mahal.

While his spot on the card may have vastly varied across his WWE tenure, one thing that remained constant for the longest time was how protected Corbin's End of Days finishing move was. Throughout his NXT run and his time on the main roster, not a single person kicked out of the End of Days until Drew McIntyre did so at WrestleMania 38. In an era where every single finisher is kicked out of so frequently, it was genuinely refreshing to see a move protected in such a way.

As for what's next in the pro wrestling career of Tom Pestock, a New Japan Pro-Wrestling stint is something likely few people had on their 2025 bingo cards. And while the two parties have only had early contact about that becoming a reality, the prospect of Pestock in NJPW is absolutely an intriguing one.