NJPW superstar and former IWGP world heavyweight champion Kota Ibushi recently spoke with Tokyo Sports about the injury he sustained during the G1 Climax finals last weekend, which saw the Golden Lover separate his shoulder after missing a Phoenix Splash in his matchup with Kazuchika Okada. Check out Ibushi's thoughts on the injury, including why he thinks it happened, below.
On how weight control/fluctuation possibly led to the injury:
There is a cause for it, weight control. This time, I've lost or gained weight by then. I was able to practice Phoenix, but there were too many waves. If that is 100 grams different, it's completely different (feeling). Because it's such an advanced technique. That was 3 kilometers different on the day of the KENTA match (18th). I was intentionally increasing it for the championship deciding match, but I think I was tired ... I wonder if my weight was definitely (influenced) I also saw the video, but if you look closely, it's still heavier than usual. Low. The position of the (set) opponent is also close. I tried to fly closer, so I tried not to jump that much.
His thought process once the injury happened and how he believes the referee made the right call to stop the match:
I knew that I had dislocated, but this time there was a lag of about 4 seconds (by the time I noticed). I don't know if it was because I hit my face or if it was adrenaline. But the moment I moved to get up, the feeling of coming off suddenly came. I couldn't move, I thought I couldn't win anymore, so I made a gesture to Mr. Okada, 'Please put in 3 counts cleanly.' I didn't know that the match was over, even though it was over. Is it because I hit my face? So I think (Red Shoes) Mr. Unno made an appropriate decision and stopped.