Some of NJPW’s top stars appear to be working without a contract.
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s talent contracts traditionally expire at the end of January, and this year is no different, with multiple big names having previously been reported to have their contract coming up imminently.
With January now behind us, Fightful Select have provided an update on the matter, revealing that a number of wrestlers have yet to re-sign with NJPW but are continuing to work for the promotion without a contract.
“As is tradition, a number of NJPW contracts were set to expire in January. As of early February, there were still a number of wrestlers who did not have new contracts but continued working with the company.”
-Fightful Select
Whilst Fightful were unable to clarify which of NJPW’s stars had put pen to paper as of writing, the likes of Gabe Kidd, David Finlay, Kevin Knight, and former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr were amongst the names who’s deals were set to expire last month.
Amongst those names, David Finlay was the subject of plenty of speculation, and whilst it’s unclear as to whether Bullet Club War Dogs’ leader is amongst those to have re-signed, he is announced to be returning to the promotion as part of this year’s New Japan Cup.
Fightful also added that they were told that progress was slow on the contract front in January, although there was contact between the company and talent.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on NJPW’s ongoing contract negotiations as soon as we hear more.
