Marty Scurll hasn’t had a televised wrestling match since February 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic drove his then-home company Ring of Honor to go on hiatus. It became unclear if or when he would be seen in the ring again when he and ROH “mutually decided to part ways” after an investigation into allegations made during June 2020’s widespread airing of abuse in the wrestling industry known as the Speaking Out Movement. (You can read the allegations here and Scurll’s response, confirming the story but saying he believed the encounter was consensual, here.) However, Fightful reported earlier today that Scurll was back in the wrestling world, and a source shared additional details with Fanbyte about what he’ll be doing.
Fightful reported today that Marty Scurll was “backstage at a recent set of New Japan Pro Wrestling Strong tapings” in California and that “We weren’t told if Scurll had any involvement in the content on the show but have been told that he has expressed interest in rejoining the company.” A source with knowledge of the tapings, who requested to remain anonymous, told Fanbyte that Scurll did, in fact, play an on-screen role at these tapings. The source said that Scurll worked at the NJPW Strong tapings on January 22, 2021, and was involved in “a post-match angle” with Rocky Romero.
The source said that while everyone working on NJPW Strong signs an NDA about the content of the tapings, there was no extra secrecy about Scurll’s involvement: “They weren’t trying to hide him.” The source says they were surprised by Scurll’s involvement, saying “I thought we were going to be the company that wasn’t booking these guys to get some buzz. They’re going to get buzz alright, but probably not the kind they’re looking for. And it just reeks of letting things slide because these people are all friends or whatever.”
They added that “I really just think fans should know his involvement beforehand, so they can choose to tune in or not.”
Scurll most recently wrestled for NJPW in spring 2019 as part of the Best of the Super Juniors (BOSJ) tournament and had been a staple in the company’s junior heavyweight division for the previous few years. While working for Ring of Honor, he joined the NJPW-based Bullet Club stable in May 2017, shortly before he made his NJPW debut as part of BOSJ 2017. He won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship from Will Ospreay in November of that year and lost it again at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in January 2018. He was also a member of the “Elite” half of the Bullet Club and the most notable member of the group not to move on to All Elite Wrestling, instead staying with Ring of Honor, starting a new faction called Villain Enterprises, and becoming part of the booking committee.
Fanbyte reached out to a representative from NJPW about this story and has yet to receive a response.
