12 Biggest Stories From NJPW's Year-End Events And How They Affect Wrestle Kingdom

7. Will Ospreay Returns From Injury

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njpw1972.com

Will Ospreay was originally set to challenge Taichi for the NEVER Openweight title at last month’s Power Struggle. However, due to a rib injury suffered during a match for Revolution Pro in the UK, Hirooki Goto was substituted in and recaptured the title he had lost to Taichi. The final night of the World Tag League saw Goto then defend the NEVER belt against Kota Ibushi, but before that could happen, former champion Taichi faced the returning Will Ospreay in order to determine the title’s number one contender.

Still nursing his ribs, Ospreay fought valiantly throughout the match. Multiple times he went for his Storm Breaker finisher but was unable to execute the move as he was plagued by his nagging injury. Finally, the UK sensation fought through the pain and hit Taichi with the maneuver to get the three.

With the victory, Ospreay was guaranteed a shot at the NEVER belt in a match at Wrestle Kingdom. But the question remained, just who he will face when 4 January rolls around.

 
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Douglas Scarpa is a freelance writer, independent filmmaker, art school graduate, and pro wrestling aficionado -- all of which mean he is in financial ruin. He has no backup plan to speak of, yet maintains his abnormally high spirits. If he had only listened to the scorn of his childhood teachers, he wouldn't be in this situation.