It was announced, as of the end of this year, that KAI will be freelance in 2017.

Though this is not the last time that KAI will be involved with W-1 as he will continue competing for them as well as continuing to compete in various promotions throughout Japan. Mutoh himself stated that he respects KAI decision for taking the initiative for his future. KAI initially began to test the “freedom” route of pro-wrestling in the last year and has seen an increase in his own personal drive to do something more. Just recent he won ZERO1′s “Furinkazan Tag Tournament” along with Yusaku Obata. 2017 looks to be an open road for KAI as he looks to take hold of his own potential.

Side note: Only Hiroshi Yamato remains close to Mutoh as the guys who were originally accepted to train under him following the “Mutoh Juku (Coaching School)” in 2006. This class included KAI, Yamato, Seiya Sanada (SANADA/Freelance), and T28 (Tetsuya/ now BUSHI/NJPW).