Injury And Illness Updates On Various Joshi Wrestlers
American promotions such as AEW and WWE aren't the only places that have to deal with rashes of injuries. The same thing is going on right now over in Japan, where several joshi promotions have been rocked with injury, or even illness, that have forced changes to big events and tours of other countries.
According to PWInsider, five Joshi stars are currently ailing from various issues. First is World Wonder Ring Stardom star Thekla, who will be unable to compete at the promotion's 5-Star Gran Prix tournament, the promotion's equivalent to the G1 Climax, due to an injury. She will be replaced by fellow Stardom star Momo Kohgo.
Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling will also be without one of its top stars, with Mizuki being forced to withdraw from the ongoing TJPW Princess Cup Tournament due to an illness. Mizuki was scheduled to face current TJPW Princess of Princess Champion, and occasional AEW star, Shoko Nakajima in a first-round matchup; as a result of her illness, Nakajima was declared the winner by forfeit and will move on to the quarterfinals.
Alas, even smaller joshi promotions aren't immune to changes. Independent star Rina Yamashita, who has appeared in GCW several times this year, is currently missing time due to an unknown illness. Another independent star, Riko Kawahata, was scheduled to wrestle for the SEAdLINNING promotion on Monday, but was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19.
Perhaps the most notable name affected by injury or illness, however, is Mei Suruga. The 23-year-old star of Gatoh Move's ChocoPro, and former challenger for Stardom's High-Speed Championship, was scheduled to travel to Thailand on June 30 for an event, but will not make the trip after testing positive for COVID-19. The news was originally announced by Gatoh Move's Twitter on Monday, who also stated Suruga was asymptomatic and that she'd be returning to action in August.
[Notice]
Mei Suruga has tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, Mei's tour of Thailand has been cancelled. We are very sorry to everyone who was looking forward to seeing her.
Mei will be taking a break from streaming for a while.
Thank you for understanding.#ChocoPro #gtmv— Gatoh Move / ChocoPro🍫 (@gatohmove) July 26, 2022
Mei is asymptomatic but enter a quarantine period.
She will return in August.#ChocoPro #gtmv https://t.co/xPCnPrbwpH— Gatoh Move / ChocoPro🍫 (@gatohmove) July 26, 2022
Suruga is best known for her appearances in AEW, where she competed in the AEW Women's World Championship Eliminator tournament in 2021 and appeared alongside trainer and mentor, Emi Sakura, on "AEW Dark: Elevation" and "AEW Dark." She was last seen on AEW back in December, teaming with Sakura in a loss to Riho and Ryo Mizunami.