COVID-19 Protocols Force More Changes To NJPW Shows

Several New Japan Pro Wrestling shows have been affected by COVID-19 since the year began, and unfortunately, that trend continued.

Four wrestlers have been pulled from both Sunday's event in Chiba and Monday's event in Korakuen Hall due to medical protocols. This means the competitors pulled — Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Taiji Ishimori, and Jado — are presenting fevers or have recently been in close contact with someone with a fever.

Two tag matches on each event have been modified due to the protocols. You can see the full lineup for Monday's show below:

- Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru

- Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & Shingo Takagi

- Tomohiro Ishii & YOH vs. EVIL & SHO

- Toru Yano, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI

- Tiger Mask & Tomoaki Honma vs. Gedo & Yujiro Takahashi

- Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Ryohei Oiwa & Kosei Fujita

- Great-O-Khan vs. Yuto Nakashima

New Japan Pro Wrestling's New Year's Golden Series airs this Monday, February 7 at 4:30 a.m. EST on NJPW World. Stay tuned for results from the show.

As noted, this occurrence has been an ongoing trend as the year has progressed. Last month, numerous NJPW shows also saw changes made last-minute because of medical protocols centered around the Coronavirus.