Over the past year, we’ve really gotten to see Maki Itoh become a complete performer in Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. The former idol has consistently proven her skills, and her appearances for All Elite Wrestling have only helped to make her even more popular. Despite not being linked to AEW by a contract, she would even turn down the chance to work with WWE for AEW.
Maki Itoh Would Refuse A WWE Offer, Has Loyalty To AEW
During an interview with Steve Fall of WrestlingNews.co, Itoh would be asked if she would consider an offer from WWE. Through her translator, Itoh would say the following.
“No, nothing. The reason she became this popular is thanks to AEW. Whatever happens, even if WWE gives her a cheeky offer from nowhere, she would not accept it and she would stay right beside AEW all the way.”
It would be unlikely that WWE would offer Itoh a contract, unless plans for NXT Japan finally get off the ground. At that point, any popular names would likely be scouted for the off-shoot of NXT, and Itoh would be a no-brainer in that situation. The ‘failed idol’ gimmick would be easily translated to WWE, with Itoh simply needing to be less vulgar.
Itoh Details Her Plans For 2023
When asked about her plans for 2023, Itoh would say the following through her translator.
“In Japan, she wants to get a title belt, obviously. She feels maybe a tag team title belt would be really nice, just about now. Where for America, she wants to go back to being on AEW television again. As you know, there is only so much time available on American TV and you can’t really leave much of an impact due to how much time you get to be on TV. She definitely wants to leave a big enough impact to where everyone will remember the name of Maki Itoh.”
Right now, the biggest Japanese names in AEW are Hikaru Shida and Konosuke Takeshita. If AEW would be able to get Itoh overseas more consistently, she would likely have a chance to become a bigger name for the promotion. A joint deal with AEW & TJPW would not be out of the question, especially as Itoh continues to improve.
Do you want to see more of Maki Itoh in AEW? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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