‘The Ticking Time Bomb’ has been side-lined with an injury for the best part of a year. Hiromu Takahashi was experiencing a peak in his singles career, having captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship from Will Ospreay and becoming one of the most popular wrestlers on the roster. Takahashi was pegged to be one of the companies biggest draws, on the level of Jushin Thunder Liger during his run as the top of the division. Although things were put on hold after suffering a brutal neck injury after a botched phoenix-plex.
His IWGP Junior Heavyweight title was vacated after it was confirmed he’d be missing 9-12 months of action. During his time away, the Junior Heavyweight division have been experiencing some big changes, with Ospreay now leaving to explore other avenues and names such as Shingo, Dragon Lee and El Phantasmo leaving their mark as the division’s brightest stars.
In a huge turn of events, Hiromu teased via his Twitter that he is indeed well enough to make an appearance at the upcoming Battle of the Super Juniors final on June 5th.
【Everyone needs healing.】#ナオル #NAORU#njbosj pic.twitter.com/fhFWLHS6IJ
— 高橋ヒロム / Hiromu Takahashi (@TIMEBOMB1105) June 3, 2019
Takahashi returning to New Japan can only mean big things for the Junior Heavyweight division going forward. With his old rival Dragon Lee currently holding the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title, we’ll surely have a huge feud going forward should ‘The Ticking Time Bomb’ jump right back into the title hunt.
I suspect Hiromu will be welcomed back with a huge response from the Japanese crowd this Wednesday, whether he’s simply there to crowd the winner of the BOSJ tournament with their trophy, or if he’s involved in an impromptu match. Takahashi is going to make waves upon his return, becoming a huge draw for Wrestle Kingdom 14 next year.
Who would you like to see Hiromu face upon his return? Let us know in the comments below.
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