Back Page Editorial: Please Don’t Die.
By Ross Berman
Sakura Genesis is cursed. There’s no other way to put it. At the 2017 event, Katsuyori Shibata suffered a career-ending Subdural Hematoma in the main event against Kazuchika Okada. This year, Will Ospreay came close to ending his career and his life multiple times in his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title defense against Marty Scurll. So ravaged by battle, The Aerial Assassin’s WrestleMania weekend bookings were in jeopardy until the midnight hour. Now there are rumors that Young Lion Katsuya Kitamura’s career is over before it had a chance to begin, rumored to be retiring due to head injury issues. It is not if, but when will someone join Misawa and Aguayo in the sad fate of dying before a paying audience’s eyes.
Much like Roman Reigns’ near-scalping at the hands of Brock Lesnar, Will Ospreay’s crimson mask was an unforgettable image, but while Reigns nearly bled to death to make Lesnar look strong, Ospreay’s bloodshed was due to his head continuously clipping the apron. This made his opponent Scurll look borderline ridiculous, as he still couldn’t best the clumsy champion. Ospreay has been outspoken about gaining weight to challenge for Progress Wrestling’s Atlas Championship, and that extra weight threw his timing off, with near-career ending results.
Later that night, Zack Sabre Jr. and Kazuchika Okada had a thrilling main event bout that featured far less by way of headshots, and did not lack for drama in the slightest. Sabre has been adamant about returning New Japan Pro Wrestling to it’s submission-based roots, and it will be a godsend to the competitors if he does.
It can seem borderline hypocritical to ask for modern Puroresu to be devoid of risk. The high-contact style is what has been the promotion’s hook for decades. This shouldn’t give carte blanche to play five-bullet Russian Roulette.
