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If you're a hardcore fan of professional wrestling who watches everything from WWE to PWG, you may have noticed that Jonah, aka NXT's Bronson Reed, has been noticeably absent from Impact television since all the way back in April, when the “Top Dog” lost a “Monster Ball” match to PCO of Honor No More.
What gives? Jonah's been working a ton in NJPW/NJPW Strong and has even performed on indie dates for Warrior, HOG, and ROW; did he have a falling out with Scott D'Amore and the Impact brass? Well, as it turns out, the answer is no, as Jonah informed Steve Fall of NCB Sports Boston in an interview transcribed by Fightful.
“Just a mutual agreement, going different ways. This is something that isn't final. It's something where you could see me in IMPACT still, later on this year or possibly next year. It was that I was working both New Japan Pro-Wrestling and IMPACT Wrestling, and at the time, the dates never conflicted, they were both great to me by trying to have their dates on separate days so that I could do both. The New Japan schedule is picking up and soon enough, once we get visas and stuff sorted, you'll see me in Japan as well. I've gone down that road where I'm going to be focusing solely on New Japan Pro Wrestling.”
Welp, there you have it, from Jonah's mouth to the wrestling gods' ears. “The King Of Monsters” is heading to Japan to become the latest gaijin kaiju to dominate smaller foes in a New Japan ring. Case closed, the story's over, please check out some other stories while you're here.
… only, what if that isn't the end of the story? What if Jonah does intend to focus on New Japan Pro Wrestling moving forward unless a better opportunity comes along? Because, according to Andrew Zarian on The Wrestling Observer's We're Live Pal podcast, Triple H reportedly has eyes on bringing Jonah back into the fold and re-debuting Bronson Reed on either RAW, SmackDown, or NXT 2.0.
Would Jonah actually accept such an offer? Well, considering he also asserted in his interview with Fall that he felt he was fired for being a “Triple H guy,” the answer to that question sure feels like a yes.
Bronson Reed may be back in the WWE Universe before fans know it.
Elsewhere in the interview, Reed did make it very clear that he has a lot of respect for Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and outright asserted that his association with “The Game” was connected to his release, as you can read below via a transcription from Wrestling INC.
“That could be a reason why, which sort of sucks because Hunter has such a great mind for wrestling and he's done so much for that company, for WWE,” Jonah told “NBC Sports Boston. “He was so instrumental to all the guys at “NXT” when it was the black and gold brand at helping them … reaching their potential. He was very hands on with the talent, and I had no bad words to say about Hunter or my time at NXT.”
“But it did seem like that shift is a reason why a lot of us did get released,” Jonah said. “You see a lot of guys that Hunter did put his faith into like myself or Keith Lee or Karrion Kross, these guys that he made into champions all of a sudden be released.”
To be fair, Jonah's assertions are widely considered correct; after watching NXT lose the Wednesday Night Wars to AEW month after month before the show was ultimately moved to Tuesday nights in coordination with a contract extension from the USA Network, Vince McMahon took a more hands-on role with the WWE's third brand and opted to give more attention to his type of guy, aka Bron Breakker, over more established NXT talents like Johnny Gargano, Dexter Lumis, and Keith Lee, all of whom were released from their contracts due to “budget cuts.”
Still, Jonah saw through the guise of a budget-based release, asserting that John Laurinaitis said it was just a “no for now,” and that the company really did like his work.
“I'm like, ‘well, if you like what I'm doing why are you releasing me,'” Jonah questioned. “I didn't end on any bad terms or anything like that so you never know there could be a time when you see me again walk through that door, but for now I have different ventures I want to do.”
So there you go, while Jonah hasn't exactly waiting in guerilla for a chance to charge the ring and attack Gunther after his next Intercontinental Championship defense, the “Forbidden Door” is very much open, and he's patiently waiting for a knock to be let in.
