Former NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida has reportedly left WWE.
Fightful Select is reporting that Kushida has made his exit from the company. The report notes that his contract expired. There’s currently no word on whether or not he was offered a new deal. The report also mentions that there was no word of bringing Kushida to the main roster before his exit.
Kushida signed with WWE back in 2019. He entered the promotion as one of the most renowned junior heavyweights in Japanese wrestling. He is a six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship twice with Alex Shelley as the Time Splitters.
As mentioned, Kushida was able to lay claim to gold in WWE, holding the NXT Cruiserweight Title for 161 days. Once that reign ended, however, he was paired with Ikemen Jiro to form the joke tag team, Jacket Time.
It’s no secret that WWE’s NXT brand has undergone significant changes since Kushida was signed. It’s no longer about signing independent talent and international stars to build the brand. NXT is now about preparing younger talent for Vince McMahon’s vision of the main roster.
