Pro Wrestling NOAH has been forced to make significant changes to Sunday’s card after a slew of positive COVID tests.
The promotion has announced that Kaito Kiyomiya, Yoshinari Ogawa, Junta Miyawaki, Yoshiki Inamura, Kinya Okada, Yasutaka Yano, Super Crazy, Tadasuke, Daiki Inaba, and Masato Tanaka are off Sunday’s ‘Bumper Crop 2022’ event in Sendai.
It was stated that Tanaka had a negative PCR test and the reason for his absence was listed as “due to poor physical condition” without going into further detail.
The other absences are a result of positive COVID tests or being in close contact. It was noted that the affected talent have been double vaccinated.
Kaito Kiyomiya: “It turns out that several wrestlers, including me, are infected with COVID. We sincerely apologise to all those who were looking forward to the Sendai show on Sunday”
Please send your words of encouragement to our wrestlers & staff!pic.twitter.com/80P4Giv9D8
— Pro Wrestling NOAH (@noahglobal) January 14, 2022
Pro Wrestling NOAH issued the following statement:
We will be absent because several players scheduled to participate in the upcoming January 16th Sendai Tournament have been infected with the new coronavirus and are also close contacts. In addition, Masato Tanaka will be absent due to poor physical condition, although the result of the PCR test was negative. Along with this, the battle cards will be changed as follows.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concern to our fans and all concerned, and thank you for your understanding.
Applicable athletes are treated at home or at medical institutions in accordance with the guidance of health centers and medical institutions. In addition, we will wait at home for a specified period even for players and staff who have been judged to be close contacts. In addition, the relevant athletes and staff have taken the vaccine twice during the last year, and the symptoms have calmed down at this point.
At Pro Wrestling Noah, we will continue the measures against new coronavirus infectious diseases that we have been working on so far, undergo regular PCR tests by private testing institutions, retest at medical institutions, and take further thorough measures according to infection control guidance. While ensuring the safety of athletes, staff, and related parties, we will strive to create an environment where visitors can watch the game with greater peace of mind than ever before.
The card will air early Sunday morning on Wrestle Universe at 1 a.m. ET and will be headlined by a GHC heavyweight championship match between Katsuhiko Nakajima and Masa Kitamiya.
