NJPW: Taiji Ishimori injured, will miss June 3rd show
According to New Japan Pro Wrestling, Taiji Ishimori suffered a shoulder injury in his match with Shingo Takagi on May 31, and will miss the June 3 event in Okayama.
The road to the Best of the Super Juniors finals is long and arduous and as we’ve found out this year, not free from injury.
It was previously reported by NJPW that Taka Michinoku would miss the remainder of the tournament due to an injured foot. Now, Taiji Ishimori joins the injured list.
According to the report from New Japan’s English language website, Ishimori suffered the injury during his A Block final match against Shingo Takagi. Shingo eventually came out on top in the match which determined the overall block winner, though Ishimori left looking strong in the process.
‘BEST OF THE SUPER Jr.26 Day13’ (May 31st) is now available on New Japan World!! Don't miss this amazing night of action on https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP @Takagi__Shingo vs. @taiji_ishimori #njpwworld #njpw #njbosj pic.twitter.com/PySMNrBa2S
— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) May 31, 2019
Despite his best efforts, Ishimori came up short and is walking away with a damaged shoulder. The severity of the injury is yet to be confirmed, though New Japan has noted that more updates will be provided once Ishimori receives further evaluation.
For now, there is a slight restructuring of the June 3 card in Okayama. Initially, Ishimori was set to team with Jado and Gedo to take on the team of Tiger Mask, Jonathan Gresham, and SHO. Now, with Ishimori out, the match has shifted to Tiger Mask and Young Lion Yuya Uemura vs SHO and Jonathan Gresham.
It remains to be seen how long the injury will keep Ishimori is out of action. With the Best of the Super Juniors finals taking place on June 5th and Dominion on June 9th, one would expect Ishimori would have been present in some form on those cards.
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Looking on the bright side, this may be the best time for a Junior Heavyweight to suffer an injury in New Japan. The BOSJ has officially wrapped up and we’re heading toward the annual Heavyweight tournament, the G1 Climax in July and August.
Hopefully, the injury won’t require surgery or a long layoff and Ishimori will return to action on either the Kizuna Road shows or the upcoming Southern Showdown events in Australia.