Prince Devitt: Fork in the Road for Man at the Top of WWE's Wish List

In his match earlier this week against Kota Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom 8—the biggest show of the year for top Japanese promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling—Prince Devitt came up short in defending his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. As his 14-month title reign comes to an end, could this mean that the widely desired Devitt could be making a move away from NJPW?

Reports that Triple H had taken an interest originally surfaced a few months ago, per PWInsider.com (via Wrestle Zone's Josh Isenberg), and it's easy to see why Devitt would be quite the "get" for the WWE. Similarly Irish-born superstar Sheamus has proven that being Irish gives a sizable appeal both to the WWE Universe and the higher-ups backstage.

Whilst Devitt isn't the ideal big-man main eventer like Sheamus, he more than makes up for it with his highly impressive technical wrestling. Indeed, it was supposedly a match with Devitt that got NXT's Adrian Neville, then wrestling under the name PAC, his contract—and first spurred WWE interest in "The Real Rock 'n' Rolla."

Devitt's match with Ibushi was particularly impressive even on a stacked card for which the annual Tokyo Dome Wrestle Kingdom show is known. As such, should Devitt sign with WWE, the prospect of Devitt vs. Daniel Bryan, Devitt vs. CM Punk and a host of other matches is no doubt very alluring.

However, whilst you might think that being pursued by Triple H himself would make the draw of WWE too great, it remains to be seen whether Devitt has any interest in making the move to the United States. He certainly seems to enjoy baiting expectant fans on his Twitter account, though.

If he were to stay with New Japan Pro Wrestling, it seems obvious that his intention would to be to attempt to cross over to the heavyweight division and challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Title. Devitt would be aiming to join a very short list of non-Japanese competitors to hold that belt, but it's certainly not an unassailable goal for someone with his talent and standing in Japan.

However, that's not to say that similar opportunities wouldn't be available for him wrestling in the United States.

Having such a wealth of experience wrestling on television at the highest level, while still being completely fresh to a large section of WWE's audience, would mean that Devitt could perhaps largely bypass the WWE's developmental programme and quickly start working his way up the card on WWE television.

It's difficult to say which direction Devitt is headed—he's certainly in the desirable position of having major opportunities in the two biggest wrestling promotions in the world.

Do you think Devitt could thrive in the WWE? Or is the leader of Bullet Club better off as an outsider in Japan?