Various: Master Wato Suffered Torn ACL Injury, Tetsuya Naito on Eye Surgery Recovery, Santino Marella on TNA Working on New TV Deal

Jan 23, 2024

Master Wato Suffered Torn ACL Injury

New Japan Pro Wrestling announced earlier today that Master Wato recently suffered a torn ACL injury.

During Tuesday’s Road to The New Beginning show in Tokyo, Japan, Wato came out to the ring walking with the assistance of crutches. Wato confirmed that he did suffer a torn ACL injury and will not be able to compete in his scheduled match against SHO on the show.

Following his speech, House of Torture’s SHO attacked Wato from behind and proceeded to ridicule him over his injury as NJPW’s way of writing out Wato for the foreseeable future.

Tetsuya Naito Comments on Undergoing Eye Surgery Last Year & Suffering a Head Wound at Wrestle Kingdom 18

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s official English website held a recent interview with Tetsuya Naito. One of the topics discussed included Naito’s thoughts about suffering a black eye injury and cut above his eye during his match against SANADA for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 18 earlier this month.

“Right, my eyelid. We clashed heads when I went for that last Destino. So after the match, I got to the back, gave my comments, went to the trainer’s room and got six stitches. I really didn’t want them and asked if there was another way, but didn’t have a choice. Those stitches hurt like hell. The anesthetic before- can you imagine getting a shot on your eyelid? But the doctor’s all happy go lucky about it. Actually on the last Korakuen shows of the year I got hit on the other side, and that was three stitches on that eyelid. So I had nine stitches across two eyes within two weeks of one another.”

Naito also provided an update about his eye’s recovery from surgery late last year.

“Well, the more you get this, it is diminishing returns. in all honesty, things aren’t right, but they are better than before.”

Naito also gave his thoughts about the next generation of stars stepping up for the next era of the company.

“Whatever sport you follow, that changing of the guard is a fact of life. You can’t resist that, and if it didn’t happen then we wouldn’t move forward as a genre. NJPW needs this and I know I’m not going to be around forever. It’s a little sad to be in my spot, but I can grow from this pressure, it’s something that I never felt before, and that’s exciting.”

Santino Marella Comments on TNA Working on Getting New TV Deal with a Big TV Network

A recent episode of the Busted Open Radio podcast featured Santino Marella as the guest. One of the topics discussed include Marella’s thoughts about TNA Wrestling currently working on getting a potential new television deal with a big television network.

“The way people consume the product is changing. People stream it, but there’s still that stamp of approval you need from a big television network. That’s the only missing piece, and they’re working on it. Once we get on a channel that everyone can see, that’s when we’re going to change gears and blow up to the next level, and it’s like everyone wants to be a part of it when that happens. It’s like buying the stock before the company blows up. You want to be there during that transition because it’s gonna be history, and it’s gonna happen. I’m very confident it’s gonna happen, everyone is confident it’s gonna happen. You want to be a part of it when it happens. Not a week later. You gotta be there during that moment.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com