In the lead-up to WrestleMania 39, WWE found itself in an interesting spot from a talent acquisition standpoint.

While the promotion was clearly still down to add a few key additions wherever possible, with its NIL program going strong, the promotion had something of a soft hiring freeze, even if the exact mandate from up top was never officially released to the general public.

This unofficial yet potentially official refrainment from spending big money on free agents while the company was gearing up for a massive deal with TKO did have a tangible effect on WWE, as it effectively handed Full Gear headliner “Switchblade” Jay White to AEW, but according to another former member of the core Bullet Club, he might not have been the only free agent that The Fed missed out on, as Hikuleo and the Guerrillas of Destiny might have been heading stateside for a one-way trip to Titan Tower.

“It was true [Tama Tonga and I were speaking to WWE]. I think it added more value to the match,” Hikuleo said via Fightful.  “Everyone had their idea of who was going to win and who was going to lose, but the fact that, right after that Jay announced the loser leaves match. The next day, we were getting ready to leave from Tokyo. I was sitting on my bed, bags packed, on my phone, and then Tama texted me, ‘Did you see the internet?’ ‘I don’t want to see the internet right now.’ ‘Just open it real quick.’ I look at it, and my notifications are blowing up and I’m like, ‘D*mn, did I do too much and tell somebody? What the h*ll is coming on.’ [Fightful] reporting it just added more wager to the match itself and kept everyone guessing what was going to happen.”

So, if White did discuss a potential deal with WWE, why didn't he and Tonga – but, curiously enough, not Tonga Loa – push harder for a deal or re-engage Paul “Triple H” Levesque in a new deal Jade Cargill-style? Well, because in the son of King Haku's admission, the timing just wasn't right and may ultimately never be.

“Just the communication and a lot of factors. We were weighing it out, and we talked about it for a while, too,” Hikuleo added. “It was a lot of things. It wasn’t quite the right time. Not sure there will ever be a right time. It was a lot of factors at that time didn’t play out how we thought it would. There is loyalty, there is trust you build with New Japan or any company, and you don’t want to break that off and just jump right now when something seems good. It just fell through, and we’re where we are supposed to be.”

When NJPW announced that Hikuleo and “King Switch” were going to wrestle a Loser Leaves Japan match amid heavy speculation about both of their futures, it ratcheted up the excitement for the match 10:1. Suddenly, fans knew one of New Japan's top stars, either of the present or the future, was going to say goodbye, and who exactly took the dive was anything but a guarantee. By giving Hikuleo the rub, it made him into a bigger star, which, in turn, could make him an even bigger target for WWE in the future, so in a way, the match was a real win-win.

Hikuleo is happy with his place in NJPW, regardless of WWE interest.

So, as one of the biggest – literally – acquisition targets on the proverbial market to may eventually outgrow his former promotion, Hikuleo is likely biding his time before the real big money contract comes in, right?

Maybe so, but that doesn't mean he isn't enjoying his time in NJPW, as he came up in the promotion and they have been incredibly kind to his entire family.

“I got injured when I first started at the Dojo, I fractured my wrist, and I was struggling through the workouts,” Hikuleo said. “I was one of the last ones to finish everything. Usually, when that happens, they’ll cut you. They’ll fire you within the same week. They had a lot of faith and wanted to see me out and see how we did. For those two reasons, plus, what they did to help my father and our whole family, we can’t be quick to make decisions off money right away. You have to wait things out a little bit.”

Though Hikuleo is technically already a champion in NJPW, as he currently holds the NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Champion alongside El Phantasmo, there's a future where he could become the face of the King of Sports, becoming the sort of unbeatable international kaiju that the promotion has had success with over the years. If WWE, AEW, or another promotion doesn't come correct with a viable contract offer, Hikuleo's career may turn out to be just fine.