Wato on shelf as scheduled singles match cancelled

Night two on the Road to New Beginning in Korakuen hall January 23 was supposed to feature a grudge match semi main event between Master Wato and SHO, but the night kicked off with the announcement of the match’s cancellation due to a torn left ACL on the knee of Wato. 

Wato addressed the public himself, appearing on crutches to declare that the injury happened during New Beginning in Nagoya on January 20 and would require surgery. Fighting back tears, Wato promised ‘I will come back better than 100% and when I do come back I will face SHO one on one’. 

Before Wato could leave though, he was attacked from behind by SHO and his wrench. ‘What a shame,’ sneered SHO, who made the highly dubious statement that he was ‘ready to face you fair and square’. Saying ‘I’m just too tough that I put last year’s BOSJ winner on the shelf,’ SHO was about to do more damage before being chased off by El Desperado ahead of his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship main event defence against Yoshinobu Kanemaru.