Reason Why NJPW Passed on Signing Naomi

Fans are still waiting to see what Naomi, real name Trinity Fatu, will do with her pro wrestling career following her departure from WWE.

One of the places speculated among fans regarding a potential landing spot for her was NJPW, as Mercedes Mone got her WWE release last year before joining the NJPW/STARDOM. They were WWE Women's Tag Team Champions when they walked out before an episode of WWE Raw in May 2022 due to issues with their creative direction. They were later stripped of the titles and suspended.

Naomi previously told a fan on social media that she is no longer with WWE and filed a trademark for her new ring name.

Since arriving in NJPW at WrestleKingdom to confront KAIRI this past January, Mone has won the IWGP Women’s Championship and defended it successfully. She’s just days away from her next match, although she is reportedly in contract extension talks with the promotion.

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Bushiroad, the parent company of NJPW and STARDOM, is currently finding it difficult to commit to a longer deal for Mone as they are dealing with financial constraints.

Meltzer noted that an example of the contraints is when the decision needed to be made whether they should bring in Naomi with them, feeling “it would cost too much for the return and thus far hadn’t made that deal.”

It's possible the two sides can agree on the right money figure to make a deal happen.