Major Free Agent Set For Surgery, Addresses Retirement Rumors

AEW

A major free agent has shared a health update after departing his home promotion, addressing retirement rumors.

Following the announcement of Tetsuya Naito’s NJPW departure, Naito wrestled his last advertised match for the promotion at Wrestling Dontaku on May 4.

With Naito confirming that we will see him in the ring again following the match, he also fuelled uncertainty surrounding his status by noting that he doesn’t know when he’ll return to the ring, and if his comeback will be with NJPW.

In a new update, Tetsuya Naito told Tokyo Sports that he’s set to undergo a procedure on his eye on Wednesday, May 7.

This comes after previous surgeries, and Naito being diagnosed with bilateral superior oblique muscle paralysis at the end of 2024.

Discussing these next steps, the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion said:

“Some people may be under the wrong impression, but I’m not retiring or anything like that. First of all, I want to take the time to maintain my body, and then I want to move on to the next stage.

“I want to continue preparing for the next stage while undergoing various treatments.”

“Until now, I could only see to the left when looking straight ahead, but after the surgery at the end of the year, I can now see to the right as well. So I can see very well to the left and right.

“However, when it comes to up and down, I still see double, so the next surgery will be to improve my up and down vision. I think that once this surgery is done, I will be able to see quite well, so I’m looking forward to it.

(Translated from Japanese)

Tetsuya Naito also revealed that he’s preparing for stem cell treatment following issues with his right knee, noting:

“My knee has been in bad condition since my debut, but since I have this much time off, I thought I could focus on getting it treated.

“As soon as I finish the eye surgery, I’ll have stem cell treatment on my right knee. It’s impossible for it to heal completely, but I’ve heard that it will improve my movement and pain a lot.”

(Translated from Japanese)

Tetsuya Naito confirmed that he is not retiring, but plans to “take it easy” for the rest of May at the very least.

Despite previous interest from WWE, Naito isn’t currently expected to sign with WWE or AEW.

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• free agent
• Surgery
• Tetsuya Naito
• NJPW

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