New Japan Pro Wrestling issued the following press release announcing that top superstar Kota Ibushi has been diagnosed with Aspiration Pneumonia and will miss the promotion’s next two events on July 22nd and July 23rd from Osaka, and could potentially be replaced for his headlining matchup at Wrestle Grand Slam, where he was set to challenge Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World Heavyweight championship. Full details are below.
Kota Ibushi has been out of competition since the beginning of the Summer Struggle series due to illness. After careful investigation and thorough assessment, he has been diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia.
Ibushi’s illness was originally reported as a result of side effects arising from his COVID-19 vaccination. Aspiration pneumonia has no connection to COVID vaccinations, and Ibushi’s illness is not a result of his inoculation. We apologise for any misunderstanding. Ibushi has also tested negative for COVID-19.
In order to give Ibushi more time to make a full in ring recovery, he will be absent from cards on July 22 and 23 in Osaka, as well as July 24 in Nagoya. A final decision on his participation at Wrestle Grand Slam on July 25 will be made after assessing Ibushi’s recovery.
As a result changes will be made to the cards in Osaka and Nagoya as outlined below. We apologise to fans who were looking forward to seeing Ibushi wrestle.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling deeply apologises for the concern and inconvenience caused by this news. We appreciate your understanding, and hope you join us in wishing Ibushi the very best in his recovery.
July 22, Osaka 4th Match, July 23 Osaka 4th Match, July 25 Nagoya 4th Match.