5 WWE stars who could be headed to NJPW in 2018

New Japan Pro Wrestling are riding a tide of momentum after a highly successful Wrestle Kingdom show, which managed to pull a crowd of roughly 35,000 to the Tokyo Dome.

The company is crediting a large part of this success to Chris Jericho, who wrestled Kenny Omega in a brutal no DQ match.

On the other hand, rumour mills are churning out a lot of stories about various WWE superstars disgruntled with the company for one reason or another.

In such a situation, where NJPW have openly declared their intention of working with more WWE superstars in the near future, it is not hard to imagine that some superstars may be more than ready to jump the ship from WWE to NJPW.

So, here is the list of 5 top stars who could be heading to the east.

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#5 Neville

Will Japan be the next home for 'The man that Gravity forgot'?

Formerly known to the world as Pac, Neville is one of the best wrestlers in the world.

Although he is yet to make any comments, it is well established that he walked out of the WWE last October and we are not likely to see him at Vince McMahon's company again.

Having said that, it is safe to assume that a man, who is in the prime of his career, won't hang up his boots anytime soon. Add to that the fact that Neville has formerly wrestled in Japan under Dragon Gate as well as competed in NJPW's Best of the Super Juniors tournament, we have the recipe for a highly entertaining partnership between The Man that Gravity Forgot and NJPW.

#4 Dolph Ziggler

Is Ziggler headed to Japan?

Dolph Ziggler's WWE career has been an amalgamation of stellar performances, major setbacks, amazing moments and disgusting misuse of talent. All of this has led to Ziggler becoming more and more frustrated with the company with each passing year.

Recently in interviews and podcasts, Ziggler opened up about his indecisiveness on continuing with a company, which has rendered him as a glorified jobber for all the talent he has.

A war seems to be raging inside Dolph - a battle between his love for sports entertainment and his passion for Pro-Wrestling. If the latter wins, we could soon see Dolph Ziggler do what he does best in NJPW against the likes of Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito.

#3 Daniel Bryan

Will Bryan come out of retirement in Japan?

Daniel Bryan is unarguably the biggest superstar of the modern era and it broke many hearts when he announced his retirement in 2016. But, that does not mean that we won't see Daniel Bryan wrestle again.

Bryan has made his intentions clear that he wants to wrestle again and he has toured almost the whole of the USA for medical clearance from various institutes. But, given WWE's past history with concussion-related problems, it is almost a foregone conclusion that he will never be cleared to wrestle again for the company.

But, with Bryan hell-bent on wrestling again and NJPW looking to expand its base in the US, it is very likely that if he decides to Wrestle again, it could very well be inside an NJPW ring.

#2 Hideo Itami

Is Itami headed home?

Hideo Itami, formerly known as Kenta, was a legend in Japan, way before he came over to the west. So far, his WWE career has been filled with obstacles and roadblocks, with untimely injuries cutting off his momentum time and again.

While most wrestlers would call moving from NXT to the main roster a promotion, the same cannot be said for Itami as he was drafted in the Cruiserweight division and will now be working 205 Live shows.

Once a feared striker and also the creator of moves like the GTS and Busaiku Knee, Itami deserves far better. But, it is evident that the WWE management does not view him as a top star and with that Hideo Itami might be tempted to be Kenta again and head home to Japan.

#1 Karl Anderson

Will Anderson return to the Bullet Club?

Karl Anderson is undoubtedly one of the most underrated performers in WWE today and it is sad because he is both phenomenal in the ring and entertaining with the mic, when allowed to be himself.

The best proof of this can be found out by looking back at his run as a singles competitor in NJPW, where he defeated the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi and had classic matches with Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada. He also served as the top heed of the company when he captained the Bullet Club and took it to new heights.

But, today he serves as a massively underutilized guy in a team with Luke Gallows, both of whom have lost a lot of credibility and unfortunately seem to be destined for mediocrity in the WWE. If his recent pairing with Finn Balor as Vince McMahon's edition of the Bullet Club fails, it won't be surprising to see him back with the original Bullet Club in NJPW.