Former GHC Heavyweight Champion Go Shiozaki is set to take a leave of absence from Pro Wrestling NOAH in order to undergo surgery and rehabilitation on a nagging injury.
Shiozaki has been working with a dislocation of the right biceps tendon for an undisclosed period, although heavy amounts of kinesiology tape around his shoulders and elbows have been a steady feature of his aesthetic for some time now.
Having carried the promotion as Champion throughout the pandemic and into a seemingly brighter future, the disciple of legendary grappler Kenta Kobashi felt that now was the time to address these issues:
After the Nippon Budokan tournament, which was one of my goals, was over, and as CyberFight Co. Ltd. and Pro Wrestling Noah were aiming for even higher levels, I decided to put a scalpel in the part I was always interested in.
Now that the environment surrounding NOAH is in place, I will concentrate on improving my own performance and undergo surgery and rehabilitation for a complete cure.
📢3.14福岡国際
中嶋勝彦 マサ北宮 ×征矢学 タダスケvs潮崎豪 丸藤正道〇 杉浦貴 鈴木鼓太郎
29分42秒 真・虎王→体固め鼓太郎「今はフリーだけどノアでやってきたことは間違いなかった」
―潮崎の欠場について
丸藤「心配なくゆっくり休んで」
杉浦「しっかり治して。心配しないで」#noah_ghcpic.twitter.com/LbsJ4A5ZQl
— プロレスリング・ノア ｜PROWRESTLING NOAH (@noah_ghc) March 15, 2021
Shiozaki’s most recent run atop The Ark was a historic one, for many reasons.
Notably, he held the GHC Heavyweight Championship for 405 consecutive days, the third longest individual run in company history behind Mitsuharu Misawa with 448 and Takashi Suguira’s staggering 581 day reign.
In addition to this, Shiozaki and Suguira secured NOAH’s first 5 Star match rating from noted wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer in over 16 years.
Shiozaki leaves the title in the hands of veteran grappler Keiji Mutoh, who won the belt at the promotion’s return to the historic Nippon Budokan arena.
Go himself estimates an absence of around six months, which will unfortunately rule him out of the forthcoming CyberFight Festival in June.
Everyone here at Inside the Ropes wishes Go a speedy recovery.
With thanks to Hisame at NOAH’s Arkive