Kota Ibushi’s WWE NXT Appearance a Sign of Things to Come?

Kota Ibushi’s surprise match at NXT may prove to be a glimpse into his future, Japanese wrestlers, and Japanese wrestling

Wednesday night saw the perennial favorite to win the Cruiserweight Classic, Kota Ibushi, doing double duty and compete in a surprise match against Murphy on NXT. Ibushi had a solid, competitive match with one-half of the former NXT Tag Team champions, displaying his world-renowned kicks and strikes, before capturing the win, much to the delight of the Full Sail audience.

Ibushi being featured on an NXT taping may very well be a precursor of things to come for the popular Japanese star. As it stands, he is an independent wrestler, having resigned from New Japan Pro Wrestling earlier in the year. Widely regarded to be the odds-on favorite to win the entire CWC, Ibushi wrestling on NXT only confirms fan speculation that he may have a job stateside with WWE shortly after the tournament.

must read: WWE NXT Review: Results, Analysis, and Grades for July 27

Signing the Golden Star would add yet another venerable global superstar to NXT’s already impressive roster of Japanese talent, which currently houses Shinsuke Nakamura, Asuka, and Hideo Itami. Ibushi on NXT would bring more world-traveled star power to the show as well as another big time babyface to make up for the call-ups of Sami Zayn and Finn Balor, as well as the impending move to the main roster for the most popular superstar in NXT, Bayley.

Japan has become WWE’s newest toy box, much like how Ring of Honor had provided the company with some of its biggest stars

Japan has become WWE’s newest toy box, much like how Ring of Honor had provided the company with some of its biggest stars in CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and Seth Rollins, as well as some of their finest wrestlers in Kevin Owens, Cesaro, and Sami Zayn. Much like how the ROH stars permeated and eventually changed the WWE landscape within the last ten years by incorporating an independent flair, look for this influx of Japanese-born and Japanese-grown talent to do the same in an international sense.

We are perhaps seeing this unfold before our eyes with Finn Balor’s monumental and memorable Monday Night Raw debut where he won two matches on his way to securing a date at SummerSlam against Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship. Balor was a mega-star in Japan, perhaps the most successful and influential foreign-born wrestler to compete in NJPW.

WWE has had an international feel to their roster for some time now, however, this upcoming shift has gone decidedly far east from Europe. Whether or not this means within the next eight-to-ten years, WWE will start to incorporate elements of strong-style to their television, we will have to wait and see, but it’s hard to ignore the impact that Japan is having on the WWE right now.

Everyone signed from the Land of the Rising Sun thus far has had left an indelible mark on the product

Everyone signed from the Land of the Rising Sun thus far has had left an indelible mark on the product. Finn Balor went on to become arguably the most popular superstar in NXT and the longest reigning NXT Champion. Hideo Itami, who signed at the same time Balor did, was on the rise before an untimely injury sidelined him; however, now with his upcoming return, look for Itami to pick up where he left off. Asuka, the current NXT Women’s Champion, since the moment she arrived, has been the most dominant and intimidating wrestler in all of WWE’s women’s divisions, dethroning the beloved Bayley in the process. AJ Styles, after a resurgence in his career at NJPW as a leader of the Bullet Club, would arrive in the WWE and within his first six months, competed at Wrestlemania, challenged for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and feuded with John Cena, bringing along with him Bullet Club mainstays Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Finally, Shinsuke Nakamura made the debut of a lifetime in an instant classic against Sami Zayn in Dallas and has since gone on to become an overnight sensation in WWE.

Next: WWE Cruiserweight Classic 2016: Who is Kota Ibushi?

Surely should Kota Ibushi follow suit and sign with WWE, he would keep this incredible momentum rolling for Japan and the impact it is having on western audiences. The last decade, especially within the past few years, has become an exercise in attempting to tell whether we’re watching a WWE event or a ROH/independent show due to the pre-imminent wrestlers we are seeing on a nightly basis, such as Owens, Zayn, and Cesaro. Don’t be surprised once Itami, Nakamura, Asuka, and potentially Ibushi, join Balor, Styles, and Gallows and Anderson on the main roster if you have trouble telling the difference between watching WWE or NJPW.