NJPW's Hiromu Takahashi Vacates IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
Out injured for the next 6 months, Hiromu Takahashi vacated his NJPW belt earlier today...
New Japan Pro Wrestling's Hiromu Takahashi has vacated the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship through injury.
Takahashi broke the news himself, kicking off today's Road to Castle Attack show by hitting the ring to announce he was letting go of the strap as it was in the junior heavyweight division's best interests. This comes following Monday's news that the 31-year-old is set to miss the next six months after tearing his left pectoral muscle.
Hiromu was set to defend the title against rival El Phantasmo at this Sunday's Castle Attack show. Today saw him ask his Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemate, BUSHI, to fight for the strap in his place, meaning the card will still feature an LIJ vs. Bullet Club fight for the gold.
Takahashi was hurt while competing in a tag match on 19 February, though NJPW didn't officially announce his injury until earlier this week.
The torn pectoral means NJPW's junior heavyweight ace may not miss this year's Best of the Super Juniors tournament, though the promotion is yet to confirm the dates for that. The competition typically goes down in spring. At the moment, it looks like Hiromu won't be back until late summer.