Shoulder damage for Hiromu Takahashi expertly exploited as Ishimori begins second reign

As the Summer Struggle tour drew to an end in Jingu on August 29, the struggle was no more real than for IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi. After a hasty challenge to EVIL at Sengoku Lord left him hurt, Taiji Ishimori was right there to exploit that damage, declaring himself as Hiroimu’s next challenger while putting Hiromu on the shelf with a brutal attack to Takahashi’s shoulder. 

While the champion would say that he was more than ready to accept the Bone Soldier’s challenge, he walked into Jingu, as the sun set with heavy taping over his left shoulder, and it was only a matter of seconds before that became a target for the challenger. Ishimori’s first move after the bell was to deliver two boots to the patched up body part, and La Mistica quickly followed, sending Hiromu to the floor where he was not safe from a Quebrada by the challenger. 

While a quick attempt at the Bone Lock from Ishimori saw Hiromu quickly escape to the outside, the offense by the Bone Solider was relentless. Takahashi would find some answers through lower body strength instead, shotgun dropkicking Ishimori into the corner, and having enough of a base to use a charging Ishimori’s momentum against him with a belly to belly into the corner. 

Yet the shoulder damage would stop Hiromu from converting on his breaks in the action. A Time Bomb saw Ishimori kick out at two, and when the champion repeatedly went for Time Bomb II, his challenger was able to reverse, and a reverse Bloody Cross would connect. Ishimori immediately flowed into the Bone Lock, and with nowhere to go, Takahashi had no choice but to submit.