NJPW COVID-19 Outbreak Update

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New Japan Pro Wrestling canceled its planned Wrestle Grand Slam events on May 15th and 29th shortly after it was revealed that multiple wrestlers on its roster had tested positive for COVID-19. The promotion revealed that 2 wrestlers initially tested positive for the virus following protocols after Wrestling Dontaku Night 2. An additional 7 wrestlers were later confirmed to have tested positive as well.

NJPW has since announced a return to live events beginning next week. The big Wrestle Grand Slam show from the Tokyo Dome is still postponed, however.

According to a report from Wrestling Observer Radio, both David Finlay & Jay White have tested positive for the virus. There have also been some scheduling and quarantining issues that have come out of the recently canceled events.

“(The foreign wrestlers) were all going to go home because they were shut down,” said Dave Meltzer. “Well now, they are coming back on the 25th, which is 8 days from now. So a couple of days ago, they were all going to go home, and there’s a 2-week quarantine coming back. So now it makes no sense for people to go home but some people did.”

“(Juice) Robinson, (David) Finlay, and Jay White all went to the airport together to go home. Finlay and Jay White both tested positive for COVID-19 so they could not board the plane,” Meltzer continued.

Robinson confirmed that he actually tested positive for the virus earlier this year. No matches have been announced as of yet for NJPW’s shows next week.