TNA's KUSHIDA Reveals Upcoming Wrestling Goals

As Impact Wrestling prepares to rebrand itself into TNA Wrestling, the company has made an effort to secure contracts for several notable talents, including Eddie Edwards, Trent Seven, and former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA. KUSHIDA began making semi-regular appearances for Impact Wrestling in 2022, but in moving forward with them under the TNA banner, he hopes to become a more prominent player. During a recent interview with Denise Salcedo, KUSHIDA laid out his specific wrestling goals, the first of which is centered around capturing the X-Division Championship.

"[If I win the title, it would mean that] I am best in the world, pound for pound," KUSHIDA said, looking ahead to his title opportunity at TNA Hard To Kill this weekend. There, Chris Sabin will defend the X-Division Championship against KUSHIDA and AAA's El Hijo del Vikingo in a three-way match.

Outside of his championship aspirations, KUSHIDA revealed that he is also eyeing particular matchups with three of TNA's biggest stars, all of whom have held the company's top prize – the Impact/TNA World Championship. "My dream opponent is, so many I have, for example, Josh Alexander and Alex Shelley. I want to wrestle [them] someday, maybe this year. Moose [too]. I [also] want to try, in this year, an intergender match. That's interesting."

Alexander, Shelley, and Moose will also be competing at TNA's Hard to Kill pay-per-view. While Alexander collides with free agent Alex Hammerstone, Shelley will put the TNA World Championship on the line against Moose, who previously claimed a world title shot during the 2023 Feast or Fired match.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Denise Salcedo with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.