SPOILER Update On Returning Top NJPW Star
TIME is ticking...
To mitigate the deflating news that has followed the incendiary Katsuyori Shibata angle at the NJPW G1 Climax final - Shibata has not been cleared to wrestle, and as things stand, it was a "one off" - Dave Meltzer has provided an update on the return of another, much-missed top star.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer has reported that Hiromu Takahashi is set to return.
"I had been told that he would be ready late summer," Meltzer revealed.
"And I hear that he's doing real well. I don't know when he's coming back, but he is coming back at some point. The only thing I was kinda told is that they want it to be real big."
Author's Note:
Interestingly - booker Gedo is peerless at this point in his ability to conceive of and map long-term storylines - Will Ospreay both won the Best Of The Super Juniors tournament and captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title from Dragon Lee at Dominion mere days later. This committed booking elevated Ospreay as the undisputed doyen of the division, and perhaps, just to speculate, a major - "big" - opponent for the returning Takahashi at the upcoming, double-leg Wrestle Kingdom 14 show. Moreover, unlike fellow G1 Junior Shingo Takagi, Ospreay hasn't announced his intentions to graduate to the Heavyweight division just yet.
Irrespective of booking plans, this is tremendous news. Takahashi is a seminal talent, and will only enhance the stratospheric quality of NJPW's loaded, super-over talent roster.