Episode 109: Wrestlers and Injuries
July 16, 2026
The midsummer festival, "G1 CLIMAX 36," is finally kicking off here in Japan starting with Hokkaido. While I know everyone was looking forward to seeing him, I am truly sorry to inform our fans that Shota Umino's absence due to injury was announced following the opening match in America.
Umino is a man with a deep sense of responsibility. Knowing him, I'm sure nobody feels more devastated by this news than Umino himself.
To be honest, I've also experienced being sidelined right in the middle of a G1 tournament before. I took a direct kick to the face from Shinsuke Nakamura and suffered an orbital floor fracture. The bone behind my eye was completely broken.
Back then, I was also overflowing with frustration over not being able to live up to the fans' expectations.
Pro wrestlers don't just take bumps on the ring canvas; there are moments in our lives as wrestlers where we have to "take a bump" as well.
It doesn't end with you staying down on the mat. Rather, it's how you get back up and make your comeback that defines the depth and longevity of your career.
I believe that life operates on a biorhythm. Whether it's a single day, a week, a month, a year, or an entire lifetime, there are always ups and downs within it.
There are good times, and there are bad times. When things are going well, stay humble. When things are going bad, don't let your spirit rot. The key is to keep putting in the effort, no matter what.
Umino still has a long career ahead of him. I hope this period of absence becomes something he can look back on in the future and proudly say, "I am who I am today because of what I went through back then."
Painful feelings are simply muscle aches for the soul.
I hope you will all wait for the day when Umino returns stronger than ever.
On a side note: to fill the hole left by my fractured orbital floor, they transplanted cartilage from my foot. During that surgery, they cut and stitched my eyelid, which somehow turned my right eye into a permanent double eyelid after the operation. Plastic surgery!