Kushida gone from WWE

[eJm]

KUSHIDA was always a weird signing for WWE. Like, if you're going to go somewhere where you weren't going to be pigeonholed to be a light heavyweight like he was in New Japan, why would you go to the place where they pigeonhole you if you're a light heavyweight?

I know the answer is "money" but still.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Apr 19, 2022 3:39:22 GMT -5 eJm said:

KUSHIDA was always a weird signing for WWE. Like, if you're going to go somewhere where you weren't going to be pigeonholed to be a light heavyweight like he was in New Japan, why would you go to the place where they pigeonhole you if you're a light heavyweight?

I know the answer is "money" but still.

And, in all honesty, part of the answer is "AEW was barely a thing yet" too, so his options were also just much more so in the states outside of Ring of Honor and maybe MLW or Impact? Like GCW wasn't even close to the level it is now either and New Japan didn't even have STRONG at this time. The other reason is NXT at this time was still kind of "The place you wanted to go to show out", the Black and Gold brand still meant something.

Kushida was in that weird period of time where guys like Swerve signed to WWE, just "I wanna take my shot, and I don't know if AEW's gonna fizzle out in less than a year" and also NXT didn't become a completely different thing to try and compete with AEW, and then failed and became Vince's version, where suddenly the Indie guys who went there became an outdated idea, so they got pay and exposure best they could in the end, but what they went to, quickly became a different thing. It is ironic in Kushida's case though just because of how open he was that he wanted to be more than a light heavyweight, and he spent a very long time competing for and holding the Cruiserweight Title in NXT... and hitting an immediate ceiling.

At 38, he really needed to make a career decision, and I'm not really surprised "JACKET TIME" wasn't really selling him on staying in the 2022 wrestling climate. Dude has a shit ton of options now, and depending on how long his No Compete is (he has none if he simply walked after his contract expired), he's gonna show back up on the scene very quickly.

[Legion]

He was over in as far as he got reactions and the Jacket Time team had value in that niche but ultimately insulting comedy position.

However, he is pretty old, his English isn't great and he'd have ever worked on the main roster given what WWE wants their show to be.

Better he get out now after a bit of exposure and nothing too embarrassing, and jump to a company where he'll fit better. I'd suggest either NJPW or Impact - or both.

It's not really a missed opportunity from WWE as much as he was a strange signing who got some cash out of them, got his name out there in America a bit more and can put former WWE champion on his resume.

[1 Free Moon-Down with Burger]

The jacket time thing should’ve been an omen. He gets put into a tag team with another guy who just showed up and the whole team name and gimmick is about the newer guy

[kingoftheindies]

per the Fightful article and WOL the PC was so overcrowded it took 9 months to get a bunch of people back to workout because they had no room for people. Kushida also went this whole time without a locker (he was one of many)

[eJm]

Apr 19, 2022 6:37:24 GMT -5 kingoftheindies said:

per the Fightful article and WOL the PC was so overcrowded it took 9 months to get a bunch of people back to workout because they had no room for people. Kushida also went this whole time without a locker (he was one of many)

...They're a billion dollar company. How do you just not build more lockers?

[mrtuesday]

A lot of the Performance Center space is now taken up by the Capital Wrestling Center setup, isn't it?

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

Apr 19, 2022 6:38:57 GMT -5 eJm said:

Apr 19, 2022 6:37:24 GMT -5 kingoftheindies said:

per the Fightful article and WOL the PC was so overcrowded it took 9 months to get a bunch of people back to workout because they had no room for people. Kushida also went this whole time without a locker (he was one of many)

...They're a billion dollar company. How do you just not build more lockers?

They build more, but they are coin operated.

[eJm]

Apr 19, 2022 7:10:14 GMT -5 mrtuesday said:

A lot of the Performance Center space is now taken up by the Capital Wrestling Center setup, isn't it?

I mean, they were having these problems before the CWC was a thing.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Apr 19, 2022 6:37:24 GMT -5 kingoftheindies said:

per the Fightful article and WOL the PC was so overcrowded it took 9 months to get a bunch of people back to workout because they had no room for people. Kushida also went this whole time without a locker (he was one of many)

So hoarding everyone they possibly could wasn't as bold a strategy as it turned out to be, eh Cotton?

Also jesus christ, I know it was said already, but they're making record profits and you can't get these people f***ing lockers, for MONTHS?

[Mecca]

Apr 19, 2022 8:07:02 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

Apr 19, 2022 6:37:24 GMT -5 kingoftheindies said:

per the Fightful article and WOL the PC was so overcrowded it took 9 months to get a bunch of people back to workout because they had no room for people. Kushida also went this whole time without a locker (he was one of many)

So hoarding everyone they possibly could wasn't as bold a strategy as it turned out to be, eh Cotton?

Also jesus christ, I know it was said already, but they're making record profits and you can't get these people f***ing lockers, for MONTHS?

As they continue to sign more and more developmental classes...writing is on the wall that there will be releases.

[HMARK Center]

Apr 18, 2022 23:12:29 GMT -5 A Platypus Rave said:

Apr 18, 2022 22:07:11 GMT -5 Super Duper Dragunov said:

Now is the time to change up his look/presentation. It's the main thing hindering him in my opinion.

Dude is talented as hell, but the Marty McFly cosplay ain't it, and hasn't been.

Wasn't that meant to be like a one off thing in New Japan?

It being his entire like gimmick in the WWE really did him no favors.

Nah, KUSHIDA always did the Back to the Future look; hell, there was a Wrestle Kingdom Jr. Tag title match where he and Alex Shelley drove onto the entrance ramp in a DeLorean, and his arm submission is the Hoverboard Lock. Also rocked the Marty life vest look very often.

I'm sad it didn't really work for him in WWE, but I'm thrilled he's likely coming home, dude's always been one of my favorites. He's not just good in the ring, the dude is an absolutely superlative worker, but it was clear when he left that NJPW kept wanting him to be their default Junior division ace and he likely felt he had simply done all he could there. Beyond that, his ace status never fully clicked with the audience the way Hiromu Takahashi's currently does, and I think KUSHIDA knew that and wanted to try something new. He'd always talked about loving spending time in America and I'm sure he wanted to shoot his shot, just too bad it turned out the way it did. I remember hoping against hope that he'd be one of the first people to sign with AEW, instead, but as mentioned before he came over just as AEW was starting, so I can't fault anyone who didn't want to roll the dice on a company that could've gone belly-up in a year.

On the Observer radio show Meltzer and Alvarez said internal thought at WWE is that he'll be back in NJPW by June, but I'm definitely curious if he wants to continue trying to keep some of his focus stateside given that he could easily work AEW, ROH, Impact, and NJPW Strong. If he's going to come back to Japan more full time then I hope they pull the trigger on him getting to work with heavyweights more often, especially now that the NEVER openweight belt is elevated since the IC strap was merged with the heavyweight one.

Either way, I just know I'm going to jump up and cheer if I see him announced for Best of Super Juniors (...maybe the G1? Dude deserves a shot at it), or if EVIL wins his next NEVER defense, calls out a new challenger, and suddenly we get to hear one of the best NJPW entrance themes again.

[Error]

Apr 18, 2022 21:13:04 GMT -5 The Summer of Muskrat XVII said:

Apr 18, 2022 21:04:03 GMT -5 Error said:

Dude was completely wasted in WWE. With the AEW/NJPW relationship looking to be growing and Khan having to build ROH, he'd be perfect to head there.

Hell he just deserves better period.

I think he’d get lost in the shuffle in AEW. If he wants to stay in North America I’d go to Impact or ROH. He’d be a star in either one, in AEW he’d just be another dude I think

I say AEW since Khan owns both add they'll have a talent "share" but yeah, is focus him more in ROH.

[noobeast]

Not a huge loss or gain for anyone. Dude is undeniably talented as far as being able to do cool moves, but nothing about him says "breakout star" by any stretch.

His ceiling is, was, and always will be "mid-carder with a decent pop." Nothing wrong with that.

[Instant Classic]

He did nothing for me so I can’t say I’ll miss him.

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

Apr 19, 2022 10:30:55 GMT -5 Error said:

Apr 18, 2022 21:13:04 GMT -5 The Summer of Muskrat XVII said:

I think he’d get lost in the shuffle in AEW. If he wants to stay in North America I’d go to Impact or ROH. He’d be a star in either one, in AEW he’d just be another dude I think

I say AEW since Khan owns both add they'll have a talent "share" but yeah, is focus him more in ROH.

Oh, there’d definitely be crossover, but if TK works out a deal with Kushida I’d make him an ROH cornerstone. You wanna use ROH as development, Kushida’s one of the best guys you could possibly have in the player/coach role

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

Apr 19, 2022 6:37:24 GMT -5 kingoftheindies said:

per the Fightful article and WOL the PC was so overcrowded it took 9 months to get a bunch of people back to workout because they had no room for people. Kushida also went this whole time without a locker (he was one of many)

Ghetto, hahaha. Worst part is that resources obvs aren’t an issue so it’s just piss poor logistics and straight up not having a plan for a lot of the “prospects” they are bringing in.

Could you make this shit sound more undesirable to somebody with actual options, lmao?

[Deleted]

Serious question:

Have they ever brought in a Japanese male and booked them well in a way that wasn't a comedy act?

[kingoftheindies]

Apr 19, 2022 11:57:30 GMT -5 @therealoblivion said:

Serious question:

Have they ever brought in a Japanese male and booked them well in a way that wasn't a comedy act?

Nakamura has always been treated fairly well. Should have gotten a world title reign during his run but he's never been portrayed as a joke

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

Apr 19, 2022 11:57:30 GMT -5 @therealoblivion said:

Serious question:

Have they ever brought in a Japanese male and booked them well in a way that wasn't a comedy act?

Well there was Lord Tensai but it just didn't work out