Various: BUSHI Leaving NJPW This May, TNA Reportedly Has Three Unannounced International Talents Signed Under Contract, Indies/Misc.

Apr 16, 2025

BUSHI Leaving NJPW This May

New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that BUSHI will be leaving the company this May.

It was announced that BUSHI had requested and will be granted his release from the company.

It was also announced that BUSHI’s final appearance for the company will be taking place at their Wrestling Dontaku 2025 Night 2 event on May 4th in Fukuoka, Japan.

Prior to the departure announcement, BUSHI has been with NJPW since April of 2012.

TNA Reportedly Has Three Unannounced International Talents Signed Under Contract

Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp reported that his sources stated that TNA Wrestling currently has several unannounced talents signed to contracts with the company.

Sapp reported that those spoken to stated that there are at least three international talents currently signed under contract with TNA that have yet to be officially announced.

No other details were given regarding these new unannounced signings to TNA.

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

Major League Wrestling recently announced that next year’s Slaughterhouse event will be taking place on October 4th at the Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California.

The Crash Lucha Libre announced that former WWE talent Cedric Alexander will be making his official debut for the company at their May 16th event in Tijuana, Mexico.

Game Changer Wrestling recently announced a time change for Dragon Gate’s Rebirth event for The Collective on Wednesday in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was announced that the start time for Dragon Gate’s event was pushed back by one hour from its original 10PM PST to a new 9PM PST start time.

Post Wrestling’s John Pollock reported that the UFC’s exclusive negotiating window with ESPN expired on Wednesday and they are now allowed to talk with other parties for a potential new media rights deal.

Pro Wrestling Revolver announced that Deonna Purrazzo will be making an appearance for the company at their Cage of Horrors event on June 14th in Clive, Iowa.

In a recent interview with the Busted Open Radio podcast, NJPW English announcer Walker Stewart gave his thoughts about how former NJPW and AEW announcer Kevin Kelly gotten him into the door for NJPW for his commentary career in the company. Stewart stated “I happened to connect with Kevin Kelly through a former Ring of Honor wrestler named Bob Evans, and it was kind of matter of just shooting my shot and it wasn’t me going, ‘Hey, Kevin, give me your job.’ It was me sending a message to Kevin Kelly not expecting a response. It was the middle of G1 33 and that’s a really intense tour that we do with New Japan. Especially around that part of the G1 and I just said, ‘Hey, I heard that you’re leaving. What would a guy have to do to be put into the position to one day fill the shoes that you’re in right now?’ And he said, ‘Well, how about you find out’ and it was one of those things where I’m sitting in a 7-Eleven, I’m working my day job. I’m in the freezer and I get a call from Kevin Kelly going, ‘Hey, they wanna sign you to New Japan’ and I was like, ‘Alright, well, I don’t need this anymore.’ This is the dream. We finally got where we wanted to be and now I’m here.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)

Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling announced one new match for the card of their Northern Rising event on May 10th in Toronto, Ontario, Canada: