We've learned more regarding New Japan Pro Wrestling's aggresive recruitment efforts, and it appears juniors are not the sole focus.
Voices of Wrestling has learned that NJPW has shown serious interest in heavyweight ex-JTO tag team champion Ryoma Tsukamoto. A JTO source noted to The Flagship that Tsukamoto recently took the NJPW dojo entrance exam. Tsukamoto began his career with All Japan, before spending a few years with TAKA Michinoku's Just Tap Out
promotion.
He's now a freelancer who has primarily worked DDT since mid to late 2025.
Super J Cast's Joel Abraham reported on Tuesday that Tsukamoto was being "looked at" by NJPW, along with two previously unreported names, Pro Wrestling BASARA's Takata Nakano and Masato Kamino .
Abraham was also able to confirm the signing of Dragongate's Dragon Dia, whose NJPW interest was first reported here and by Open The Voice Gate on Tuesday, along with Kuukai, the ex-Michinoku Pro wrestler who had worked a two NJPW tours in 2025, and most recently worked New Year Dash !! on January 5.
Another interesting name we've heard attached to NJPW is Yutani, a lucha trained Japanese wrestler currently working regularly with CMLL. Yutani is not believed to be under contract to CMLL, meaning he would be free to work or sign with NJPW at any time. He is believed to be a permanent resident of Mexico, however (and in a relationship), which could complicate a potential full time move. He is being looked at as a heavyweight.
NJPW aggressively scouting and raiding smaller Japanese promotions was an inevitable ripple effect and a function of the post-AEW landscape. Prior to a second big money major league promotion emerging in America, New Japan largely operated on an island, able to sustain the occasional WWE raid by constantly restocking the dojo and leveraging jumps of major stars like Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, or Shingo Takagi once they outgrew their home promotions. The current WWE/AEW arms race means the threat of losing talent is constant, fast, and inevitable, and it extends beyond just the top of the card. In order to survive, New Japan had to find new ways to fill the roster beyond the slow moving Young Lion process, and we are seeing that play out in early 2026.
Joel Abraham contributed to this report
by Unusual_Kick7