Yuya Aoki To Depart Big Japan Pro-Wrestling

By: Lewis Carlan

Big Japan Pro-Wrestling made a surprise announcement today as they confirmed that their perennial star Yuya Aoki will be departing the company at the end of Feb. 2026.

Aoki’s contract initially expired at the end of Dec. 2025 but was extended for two more months. At the end of February, Aoki will begin to compete as a freelancer.

Yuya Aoki, who is only 29, joined the BJW Dojo back in April 2016 after being scouted while he was still in high school by Yuji Okabayashi. He debuted for BJW in an exhibition bout against Okabayashi in Nov. 2016.

Aoki holds the record for the longest reigning BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion at 529 days. He has been one of the top stars and most recognizable faces for the promotion for many years and this can be viewed as a huge loss for BJW.

Taking to X, Aoki issued a statement regarding his decision to depart BJW:

From Yuya Aoki:

I will be leaving Big Japan Pro-Wrestling at the end of February. I am grateful to Big Japan Pro-Wrestling for giving me so many experiences, both good and bad, in the ring and at the dojo! I apologize to all my fans for this sudden announcement. I ask for your continued support of Big Japan Pro-Wrestling.Until that time comes, I will do my best to devote myself to Big Japan Pro-Wrestling!! (Translated via Google Translate)

In addition to the BJW World Strong Heavyweight Championship, Aoki has also held the BJW Jr Heavyweight Title and the Yokohama Shopping Street Six Man Tag Team Championship.

In 2025, BJW has seen the departure of three of their top stars Fuminori Abe, Takuya Nomura and Daisuke Sekimoto which was a huge blow to the company. With the loss of Aoki, BJW will have figure out how to recover and it won’t be easy.