NNew Japan Pro Wrestling

If NJPW lose him I might lose hope in them being able to spare a dollar cuz this mf is literally the future

  • December 29, 2024


If NJPW lose him I might lose hope in them being able to spare a dollar cuz this mf is literally the future

by BIG_DADDY_CLARE

33 comments

  1. Part of being a New Japan fan is accepting that foreigners are generally on borrowed time. The yen just can’t compete against the American dollar, and there’s only so many people who want to show loyalty and stay in the place where they’ll always be an outsider in their off time

  2. Agreed, but with AEW and WWE’s buying power it’s not really up to NJPW whether they can keep him or not. They’re basically in the spot of either relying on the loyalty of the talent (already a shaky thing for a number of reasons), or that the other companies would rather sign someone more developed/with more buzz (not something NJPW can rely on too)

    Knight should be getting a featured run in BOSJ this year, and hopefully getting a Jr title shot beforehand if Despy wins the title at WK. He’s still behind Wato, Fujita, and Akira (and arguably Clark) as the next guys up in the Jr division but I could see a world where four of those guys are our BOSJ semifinalists next year

  3. They probably won’t lose him but you can never be too sure when it comes to the New Japan office. I would say that him being a champion right now with KUSHIDA means he’s not going anywhere, but we’ve seen cases where someone leaves New Japan even when they have a title.

    Granted, I think Kevin Knight is a bit more homegrown than the likes of Karl Anderson and Brock Lesnar. He trained at the LA Dojo, so I can’t think of any reason why they wouldn’t want to re-sign him. He’s a promising talent and he’s young. The brand needs that youth.

  4. In ring wise I have been consistently impressed by him. I’m not sure if I’d go as far as Ibou on this one considering I don’t know how good Kevin Knight is on the mic and that’s very important in the US companies. But yeah he’s definitely very talented. I’d like to see him stay in New Japan and go on a singles run.

  5. That’s the hard part of foreigners in NJPW. With some exceptions, they’re not here for a long time.

    Once they’re beloved by the fans here, it’s usually when those bigger promotions notice them.

  6. My main takeaway from this is happiness for Kevin Knight. I would love to see him in NJPW long-term but they’ll never be able to compete with AEW or WWE in a bidding war and Knight absolutely seems like somebody who could be a top guy in a Western promotion so if he does decide to go that direction I would understand entirely and be rooting for him.

  7. The LA Dojo/War Dogs friend group has been leaking their contract info to SRS for at least a year now. The only one who ever left was Hikuleo. Someone else could definitely also end up leaving, but these leaks are most likely just so can get NJPW to give them better deals.

  8. Not a knock on these guys. But wwe raided Ricochet, ACH, Kushida, Alex Zayne, Blake Christian, Taylor Russ, and more while signed or freelancing to New Japan.

    I know they want Kevin Knight. 

  10. He won’t stay forever in Japan when the bigger American companies come knocking with big contract deals. To be honest he deserves it too, he’s amazing. It will be sad to see him go but that’s the way things go if you love NJPW.

  11. I’m gonna be in denial on this one. It’s contract season. It’s a formality. They just started using him. It’ll be fine. Right? *Right?!*

  12. Two years in NJPW would do wonders for his value long term imo, would love to see him more consistently booked by NJPW, so fingers crossed this gets him more regular bookings and a pay bump.

  14. And he’s fucking pretty don’t know wtf that has to do with this but thought I’d put it out there…

  16. Meh I’m fine with him going. Tag guy doesn’t come often. Rather focus on WAR DOGS resigning

  18. Is there a story of where he might lean toward? I can see AEW getting the deal done. NJPW could still get some time if he makes that move.

  22. I feel like the Japanese are too racist to push him to the top put the heavyweight championship on him. They will let him go. Shame.

  24. At which point do you think AEW and WWE are gonna be satisfied and say: “We have enough people”?

  25. He’ll leave eventually, but I hope he stays. Can’t say with certainty, but it feels like he’d benefit more in the long run by developing more as a singles performing in NJPW and raising his stock before making the jump.

    As good as he is, AEW doesn’t have the space for him. And he’d most certainly be NXT bound for the other company. Another year or two (hopefully more) in NJPW? He could become the type of guy that both companies MAKE room for on their main rosters.

  27. I want him to get the bag but I will be so sad if he becomes a DJ or something else stupid in the clown show 🥲

  28. They need to fight to keep people because they can’t just be a feeder to AEW/WWE after 2024. He could do so much on the company still

  29. I feel like after years of not doing much with the LA Dojo class, to the point where I believe it was a big reason why Karl Fredericks quit, they’re finally using them, and it feels like Knight is only starting to hit his stride in the company.

    It’d be disappointing if he left, but he’s always in those training videos at Natalya and TJ Wilson’s ring, and he obviously has ins with both big Western TV companies, as well as TNA.

  30. Shads kid is gonna justify poaching him by saying it’s to “keep him in the family”.

    Harold Meij would’ve never let himself get finessed the way current office is with all these guys getting poached.

  32. Kevin Knight has pretty good potential, but not immediately more than a bunch of other guys New Japan have at the moment. He’s very athletic, but he’s still very much a diamond in the rough. In that he doesn’t always position himself in the ring where he needs to be and he still blows too many spots. Those are things he can work on.

    In the meantime, Knight hasn’t demonstrated himself worthy of a major singles push over other guys that are ready to break out just yet (Francesco Akira and Kosei Fujita in the junior division in particular). If Knight sticks around, he can steadily work his way up the card and perhaps earn himself a top spot one day. If he goes then he goes. It wouldn’t be good business for New Japan to compete with an offer from WWE or AEW in their present financial climate.

    I mean, Knight is a good prospect, but any talk of him becoming one of the major stars in the business is wildly speculative for the time being.

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