Top NJPW Star Worked Through Injury At Wrestle Kingdom 15

Wrestle Kingdom 15 started off 2021 with some major moments. Kota Ibushi managed to win the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships from Tetsuya Naito and retain the titles against Jay White.

Now, Ibushi has opened up about wrestling those matches at Wrestle Kingdom with an ankle injury. Here is the quote from Ibushi’s interview with njpw1972.com:

“It was that first match with Naito, January 4. I think it was when I took a Frankensteiner off the top, and just landed right on my instep. So I think it either sprained or tore a ligament. It’s an injury soccer players get from time to time; I was told it’s best not to move it for three months, but then I had Jay White the very next night. I got to the building early the next day and got it patched up and treated well enough to just about wrestle.

I was able to jump, and put some power into it. Then it was really a matter of getting what treatment I could and working around it. It wasn’t so much about healing as it was to stop it getting worse. It’s about the same as it was around when I wrestled SANADA. I’m having to train around it, since I can’t really run like I would normally.”

Ibushi lost the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship to Will Ospreay at Sakura Genesis.

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