NJPW Not Expected To Have As Many Contract Expirations In January

NJPW traditionally has a number of contracts come up in January, but that number may well be lesser in 2026 per a new report. The Japanese promotion typically typically has several contracts expire in January. Those years tend to be one-year contracts that get renewed. Fightful Select reports that several stars didn’t sign new deals until after their original expiration this year.

The report says that that several deals signed in spring and summer were made through January 2026. Those talent were on handshake deals before that. Some talent told Fightful that their deals will extend past January. There were some talent that started appearing more regularly in AEW this year like Gabe Kidd on handshake deals in addition to their work in NJPW.

In addition, several free agents said that they reached out to NJPW but never heard back. One well-known US talent said they were willing to work for a discount in NJPW and didn’t hear back. NJPW allowed several deals with their Strong brand expire after effectively shuttering the expansion brand.