On July 25th, New Japan Pro Wrestling will once again enter the Tokyo Dome for a major show. Wrestle Grand Slam has been in the works for months now, and the main event is a match that could top Match of the Year charts all around the world… provided it actually gets to happen. The main event is planned to be Kota Ibushi challenging Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, but Ibushi could miss this show.
Kota Ibushi Has Been Missing Shows Following COVID-19 Vaccine
Recently, the entire NJPW roster has been vaccinated for COVID-19. Following some outbreaks in the locker room, vaccines were required and administered to the entire roster, in preparation for Wrestle Grand Slam and the coming G1 Climax tournament. This only caused one issue, as Kota Ibushi is the only member of the roster who has been noted to have had a rough time following the vaccine.
He’s not in long term danger, but the vaccine has had some individuals become sick in the following days. This has resulted in Ibushi missing a few cards, which led to some interesting matches such as Master Wato going one on one with Shingo Takagai. The next show Ibushi has been announced to miss is the July 19th Summer Struggle card, where he was booked in an 8 man tag team match.
Potential Replacement Opponents
With the 25th so close, and Ibushi not yet cleared, NJPW might need to come up with a last minute replacement for him in the main event. Thankfully with their roster, and Shingo Takagi being their standout talent this year, this wouldn’t be hard. While Ibushi is a fantastic matchup, they have options. One is Hiroshi Tanahashi, who defeated Takagi earlier this year for the NEVER Openweight Championship, before losing the belt to Jay White.
To say Tanahashi is a proven talent in NJPW would be an understatement. This makes putting him right to the top to card at a moments notice very simple, especially in Tokyo Dome. Other options mainly include veteran names like Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, or Minoru Suzuki. Names like SANADA, Jeff Cobb, Tetsuya Naito, and Kazuchika Okada are already booked on the card. That removes many strong options.
If Ibushi isn’t cleared, who would you want to see face Shingo? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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