NJPW Contract Expirations May Differ This Year
Added 2025-11-24 00:20:52 +0000 UTCNJPW’s contract situation might be different than that of previous years.
As is usually the case, a number of NJPW contracts were set to expire in January of 2025 this past year, which we reported on. Traditionally, NJPW has one year deals for many talent from January to January. Fightful reported on a number of those contracts, but several featured talent who didn't sign new deals until months after the original expiration. Many deals that were officially signed in the spring and Summer were just made through January 2026, and the talent were paid on a handshake prior to that. Some talent indicated to Fightful that their deals actually extend past January of 2026, so it isn't as hard and fast a rule as previously about when they'll be up.
Some talent, such as Gabe Kidd and Clark Connors, started doing work with AEW in 2025 more regularly on a per-appearance basis in addition to NJPW work.
There have been a number of free agent talent that spoke with Fightful and said that they didn't hear back from NJPW when they wanted to work there. There was one prominent American wrestler who was willing to work in NJPW for a discount, and still didn't hear back. Along with the Strong brand effectively being ended and less United States dates, NJPW let several deals associated with their former US brand expire.
