After nearly 16 years as a part of Recent Japan Pro Wrestling, Hiromu Takahashi is leaving the corporate. It was announced on February 3 that the record four-time winner of the Better of the Super Juniors tournament can be ending up with NJPW on February 11 following The Recent Starting In Osaka event, causing many individuals to take a position where he might find yourself next. On the most recent edition of “Wrestling Observer Radio,” Dave Meltzer commented on where Takahashi will go next, and in his mind, there are three possible options.
“Hiromu, we do not know where he’s going. I’ve heard the Hiromu leaving stuff for I feel like two months at the least, perhaps longer,” Meltzer said. “The rumor was all the time NOAH. I’ve people discuss perhaps WWE, I mean I could see him in AEW if he was available to AEW. I could see him going to WWE because there’s the cash, but so far as WWE’s track record with Japanese junior heavyweights, I mean I do know everybody thinks they will be different because they’re really good, and he’s obviously really good.” Takahashi did tell Tokyo Sports after the announcement was made that he does have one major goal he wants to realize, but didn’t specify where he would want to go with a purpose to achieve that goal.
Takahashi already has a history with AEW because of the corporate’s working relationship with NJPW, appearing on three Forbidden Door pay-per-views between 2023 and 2025, including difficult Kyle Fletcher for the AEW TNT Championship on the 2025 event. Afterward in 2025, Takahashi won the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship in Pro Wrestling NOAH, a title he would find yourself dropping to AMAKUSA at the corporate’s Recent 12 months event on January 1, but considering his former Los Ingobrenables de Japon stablemates Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI have also made their option to NOAH, that could possibly be his next landing place. As for WWE, Takahashi has no history with the corporate, but he could follow within the footsteps of one other former LIJ member EVIL, who’s slated to be joining the corporate in the approaching weeks.
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