This Japanese Fan Favourite Would Turn Down WWE For AEW

Maki Itoh has claimed that her American wrestling loyalties still lie with AEW, stating that she would choose to stay affiliated with the Tony Khan-helmed promotion even if WWE extended her a contract offer.

The cult TJPW hero said as much during a wrestling interview with WrestlingNews.co's Steve Fall. Via her translator, Itoh claimed that AEW is the reason for her current level of popularity, which is why she would spurn WWE to stay #AllElite (h/t Fightful):-

"No, nothing. The reason she became this popular is thanks to AEW. Whatever happens, even if WWE gives her a cheeky offer from nowhere, she would not accept it and she would stay right beside AEW all the way."

On top of this, 'The Fired Idol' counts returning to American television and making a big impact amongst her goals for 2023:-

"In Japan, she wants to get a title belt, obviously. She feels maybe a tag team title belt would be really nice, just about now. Where for America, she wants to go back to being on AEW television again. As you know, there is only so much time available on American TV and you can't really leave much of an impact due to how much time you get to be on TV. She definitely wants to leave a big enough impact to where everyone will remember the name of Maki Itoh."

Itoh has wrestled eight matches for AEW to date, the last of which was a tag team defeat pitting her and Emi Sakura against Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir taped for Dark: Elevation on 23 November. Prior to this, she made a big impression through a series of 2021 appearances, as well as opposite Britt Baker on the Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament's first round on 18 May 2022.

A charismatic and immensely popular figure, particularly amongst Western fans, Itoh, 27, works primarily in Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling. The CyberAgent-affiliated group enjoys a productive working relationship with AEW, with the likes of Yuka Sakazaki and Miyu Yamashita joining Itoh in crossing over to the company.