WWE & AEW Could Be After Free Agent
WWE and AEW could be in competition for a newly minted free agent.
There have been major moves made in WWE and AEW in recent weeks with both companies making headline-grabbing signings. Now it seems both companies could be interested in snapping up one star who has finished up his commitments with his current promotion in Japan.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed Katsuhiko Nakajima who has just finished up with Pro Wrestling NOAH, and suggested he could make his way to the United States:
“Nakajima. He [Tony Khan at the WrestleDream media scrum] talked about him, too. Yeah, he said that he’s got interest in Nakajima and he thinks Nakajima has got interested in them. And Nakajima is finishing up with NOAH, his contract has already expired with Noah, but he’s doing a few more matches this month and nobody in Japan knows where he’s going.
“I’ve got friends in Japan who have speculated WWE, New Japan, very high in the speculation. When Tony was asked, he said that they were very interested, too. So, I would suspect it’s one of those three. When he was leaving, it was pretty much going to be one of those three places because why else would he be leaving? I don’t think at all that he fits with WWE. He’s a great worker.”
Nakajima in WWE could be history repeating itself
Meltzer added that he believes if Nakajima went to WWE it could turn into a similar situation as KENTA who became Hideo Itami in NXT for a spell that did not translate to success:
“It reminds me too much of when KENTA went, a disaster. He was [in WWE] for years. He got all messed up because he knew that if he worked the way he worked in Japan with the hard kicking and everything and the very physical style, he knew that everybody would say he was too stiff. It wouldn’t go. So he lightened up his style and tried to work American.”
WWE is currently touting the signing of Jade Cargill while its broadcast partner, the USA Network, has promoted that Brian Pillman Jr. will be debuting in the company soon.
Meanwhile, AEW stole the headlines at WrestleDream when the man once known as Edge, Adam Copeland, debuted in the company.