Umino is gearing up to headline the Tokyo Dome.
January 4th is the date of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19 at the Tokyo Dome. Headlining that show will be Zack Sabre Jr. putting the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Shota Umino.
Going into the event, members of the NJPW talent roster are making the media rounds. There’s a new interview with Shota Umino that was pushed out by Proresu-TODAY. The outlet asked him about the ankle injury he suffered during World Tag League.
Umino shared that he was on painkillers while competing in the tournament. The condition of his ankle is improving ‘day by day’ and he brought up that prior to the G1 Climax, he was dealing with a hip fracture and strained disc.
I was diagnosed with a one-month recovery, but I didn’t choose to take a break from matches during that time. I thought it was necessary to know how much I could move with my injury and what kind of movement I could not do in order to win at the Tokyo Dome. The company suggested that I take some time off, but I was more worried about going on the big stage without knowing the status of my ankle. The experience of running through the World Tag League while on painkillers for the injury was great, and I feel like my condition is improving day by day.
As a professional wrestler, my biggest concern is losing the feeling of competing. There is a tension and rigor that is unique to matches that cannot be obtained through weight training or sparring alone. It was important for me to keep experiencing that in order to maintain myself. In fact, I wrestled in the G1 Climax despite suffering from a strained back and a hip fracture. I can give 100 percent of myself even with my injuries. I step into the ring with confidence.
At NJPW Power Struggle, Umino made his intentions clear about challenging Sabre Jr. for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title. His challenge was met with boos from the crowd in Osaka.
He feels that was more of a temporary reaction as things went back to normal after Power Struggle. He did take it as a sign that the public thinks it’s too early for him to be in the spot he’s in. Umino expressed that the most important support he gets is from the younger fans in attendance. He said the greats have all went through those mixed reactions and him getting past that will make him a true top talent.
It is true that there were boos at the Ryogoku event, but other than that, there were almost no boos. It happened temporarily when I announced my challenge at the Osaka show, but in our regular matches and World Tag League matches, there is rather a lot of cheering. Therefore, I took the booing as a comment that, it’s too early for a main event at the Dome when you don’t have a track record. In fact, it’s often taken up in articles in a funny way, but I don’t intend to be swayed by it. There are children who buy our merchandise, wave pink penlights, and give us handmade belts. That kind of support is the most important thing to me. Wanting to brush off the booing is just a personal feeling. What is important is whether or not it will benefit the company and the wrestling world, and I think it’s important to meet the expectations of the fans who support me.
It’s a path that all the top athletes have taken. I think you have to overcome that to become a true top player. I also intend to turn those who were booing me around and turn them into supporters one day…
Either Umino or Sabre Jr. will be heading into Wrestle Dynasty on January 5th as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
Both have matches scheduled for that show. Sabre Jr. is set to take on Ricochet while Shota Umino will be going one-on-one with Claudio Castagnoli.
