Jonah (Bronson Reed) on Why He Chose New Japan and Impact Wrestling After WWE Release

12/07/2021 05:21 pm EST

Despite being billed as six-feet-tall, 330 pounds and getting a sizable push on the NXT brand earlier this year, former NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed was suddenly released by the company back in August. His "No Compete" clause with the WWE has since expired, freeing the Australian star to sign with New Japan's US-based NJPW Strong brand and Impact Wrestling while also confirming his return to Pro Wrestling Guerilla to compete in the upcoming Battle of Los Angeles (BOLA) tournament. Now going by Jonah, the big man sat down with Fightful this week and explained why he chose New Japan and Impact as his new homes. 

"I guess I did (feel like the belle of the ball)," Jonah said. "The most frustrating thing for me was, I just had to get stuff with immigration sorted. Once that was sorted, it was sort of 'the world is my oyster.' New Japan is a place I always wanted to go to and the prospect of Impact as well, being able to do that because I have a non-exclusive deal, is something that is great for me as the wrestler that I am. I get to showcase my style on various shows and that makes me happy."

"My loyalties are to New Japan first and now with Impact on board, they are up there as well. I wanted to make sure I could do both at the same time and not step on one or the other's foot."

He also noted that, on top of the 30-day No Compete clause, he had to deal with his citizenship status in the US before he could start wrestling again. 

"I did have the 30-day no-compete, but it literally took another 60 days to have my immigration filed. A lot of people didn't realize that this is what a lot of international people go through. Even to get to WWE, it was a long process, months on end just to get to WWE. Being released is the same thing. It's a scary thing, very scary. I had all the faith in the world that wrestling companies were going to want to use JONAH, but at the same time, there are legalities and loops you have to jump through. That's the scary thing."

Jonah arrived in Impact at the Turning Point pay-per-view, then made his in-ring debut by beating Jai Vidal on last week's episode. He's booked to face David Finlay at NJPW Strong's Nemesis event this coming Thursday.

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