Two prominent NJPW names are believed to be working without contracts.
Since the end of the pandemic and the subsequent easing of travel restrictions, former Suzuki-Gun and current Strong Style member El Desperado has made a number of appearances for US promotion GCW, which fellow Strong Style member Minoru Suzuki has also made several appearances across a multitude of promotions, including the likes of AJPW and PRESTIGE.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has now provided an insight into the reasoning behind El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki’s recent appearances in a number of promotions, revealing that both men are currently working without an NJPW contract.
“The reason Desperado’s name pops up on a lot of indie shows is because he didn’t sign a contract with New Japan for this year. Desperado and Minoru Suzuki work here, but are not under contract with the promotion.”
-WON
Desperado’s most recent stint in GCW led to the 39-year-old calling out AEW’s Jon Moxley, leading to a tag team bout featuring Desperado and hardcore legend Jun Kasai taking on Moxley and Homicide on NJPW STRONG’s Independence Day show on July 4th at Korakuen Hall.
The following day will see the two men go one on one at Independence Day Night 2 in a “Final Death” match, on a card that’s also set to feature Giulia challenging Willow Nightingale for the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship, as well as Eddie Kingston taking on KENTA for the NJPW STRONG Openweight Title.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on both El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki’s contract situations as soon as we hear more.
