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What's the story?
Former New Japan Pro Wrestling star Kushida signing with WWE was announced over WrestleMania weekend when he was seen in the crowd during NXT TakeOver: New York, however, WWE have now officially confirmed his signing alongside two other popular independent wrestling stars.
In case you didn't know...
Kushida is an incredibly exciting new signing for WWE as he was one of New Japan Pro Wrestling's top Juniors. During his nine-year tenure with the Japanese promotion, he won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title six times and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag-Team Titles twice.
He's already filmed his NXT debut at the recent set of NXT tapings and by all accounts it seems that he's been able to retain both his in-ring name and his 'Timesplitter' gimmick from his time at New Japan Pro Wrestling.
The heart of the matter
Officially joining Kushida in the WWE Performance Center are two popular independent names that have been linked with WWE for a number of months now.
First up is Shane Strickland who finished up most of his indie responsibilities earlier this year; WWE had the following write-up on Strickland on their website,
Strickland won a trove of championships during his rise through the indie ranks, at one point serving as the top champion for three different promotions simultaneously. He counts the EVOLVE, Combat Zone Wrestling and Major League Wrestling championships among his past accolades.
Also signing with WWE is Garza Jr who was supposed to sign with his cousin Ultimo Ninja (now known as Humberto Carillo) but the move was delayed due to injury. Now he's finally officially signed!
Humberto Garza made his in-ring debut in 2008, while still a teenager. Standing 5-foot-9 and weighing 212 pounds, the high-flying Garza has competed for AAA and The Crash in Mexico, NOAH in Japan and numerous indies in the U.S. He hails from Monterrey, Mexico.
What's next?
All three of these guys are extremely athletically gifted wrestlers who will make great additions to the WWE roster.
My current guess is that they'll be used across NXT and 205 Live. With Cedric Alexander and Buddy Murphy being moved on from the Cruiserweight Division this week, it's in need of some star power and this would most definitely be it!
Are you excited by these new signings in WWE? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
