Kota Ibushi has offered an update on his injury.
The former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion has been sidelined since the finals of the G1 Climax in October 2021. New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced that he would return in the New Japan Cup before he was subsequently pulled. Ibushi publicly voiced his frustration with NJPW on social media, and the company later penalized him and others who were involved; the company reduced his pay and similarly sanctioned “the official” and representative director Takami Ohbari for their roles in the situation. During the initial press release, NJPW also emphasized that Ibushi would remain with the promotion moving forward.
In a string of tweets, translated by @thfeelite, Ibushi stated that he still can’t do a push-up, and his shoulder injury his getting worse. He noted that he’s not giving up, but he’s not going to risk his health by returning to the ring too soon.
https://twitter.com/thefeelite/status/1545346178954530816?s=20&t=xKc_lP_3bYYqJzEusmGgnA
Ibushi went on to describe how if he tried to wrestle right now, his shoulder would dislocate in less than a minute. He noted that he may have overdone it throughout his career, and he stated that his shoulder can’t move at all now.
https://twitter.com/thefeelite/status/1545373963919958016?s=20&t=2KPAQThHK2hpDebxUQhpWA
The NJPW star responded to one fan who stated that they were looking forward to seeing him wrestle again by saying, “I wonder if you’ll be able to… It’s extremely hard but I’ll try and do my best.” He went on to say that NJPW announcing him for an event in March when the company knew he would be unable to do so was “a scam”. Ibushi also expressed his belief that the company uploading pictures of him while things between the two sides were bad was “shady.”
Additionally, the veteran noted that it’s important to know when to “step aside” as he doesn’t want to stand in the way of younger talent when he’s an old man. He made it clear that he wanrs to “create a place for young people where they can shine”, though it’s unclear what exactly this would entail. When asked about retirement, Ibsuhi stated that he doesn’t know about that, but he’s developing something new.
The full thread is available here.
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