Welp, the corona virus has now infected the wrestling world.
Figuratively speaking. Thankfully no wrestlers have caught it, but that doesn't mean things haven't been royally screwed up.
Last week Stardom announced that it was cancelling a whole tour of shows and that their free Youtube broadcast would be an empty arena event. Sister promotion NJPW didn't cancel anything but did announce it was stepping up health and sanitation measures. Fans were advised to wear masks. Hand sanitizer would be available and anyone who acted ill would be asked to leave.
But earlier today, NJPW announced that under recommendations from the ministry of health, they would be cancelling their entire anniversary tour, including the anniversary show itself that was set to feature IWGP double champ Tetsuya Naito vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champ Hiromu Takehashi. Not only that but about two weeks worth of dates for the New Japan cup have also been cancelled.
Sucks for all involved. Last I checked the anniversary show was sold out. Now everypony is wondering what will be done about the tournament? There's another five dates that could be done in march. If they scrapped all undercard matches, they could cram the tournament. Or they could reschedule Naito/Hiromu for their tentpole event Sakura Genesis, push the tournament matches to the road to Dontaku, have the final on the Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni event on 4/29 (perfect for a home town win if Kota Ibushi remains the favorite) and host the title match at Dontaku on 5/4.
It's a messy situation but not insurmountable if Gedo and crew play their cards right.
Anyways, predictions. here are the brackets, who do you think will win what? What potential matchups are you looking forward to?
Mine for anypony whose interested: