Last week New Japan vacated the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. This was due to then-champion Will Ospreay suffering a neck injury during his first title defense against Shingo Takagi on May 4th. The severity of the damage hasn’t been fully revealed, and Ospreay has returned to the UK while recovering. Some fans, though, have claimed that the injury isn’t genuine, citing various conspiracy theories, with some more plausible than others. Possibly trying to silence the doubters, Ospreay has taken to Twitter to show an x-ray of his neck.
New Japan’s plan to determine a new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship is unknown. However, the belief is Kazuchika Okada is the most likely wrestler to win the title, having held the precursor to this title five times. Over the years, the Japanese promotion has been forced to vacate their top championship several times. Most famously when Brock Lesnar refused to defend the title over a pay dispute and took the physical belt to the newly launched Inoki Genome Federation.
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