KUSHIDA Reveals He Competed On Fractured Tailbone For Five Years

For five years, KUSHIDA wrestled with the injury.

A new entry was uploaded to New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s diary series on their official website. KUSHIDA updated his blog and wrote about the time when he fractured his tailbone.

It happened during a match for NJPW in 2014. Despite the injury, he continued with the schedule he had. KUSHIDA did not go to the hospital during that time. It wasn’t until he got a checkup five years later that he learned his tailbone was fractured.

The biggest injury in my career so far is a fractured tailbone. First time I’ve admitted this!? It happened during the midpoint of the 2014 Dontaku Series, at the Toyohashi event.

After the match, I couldn’t change clothes and couldn’t walk in the locker room. But I forced myself to compete in the rest of the series.

It hurt like hell, but it was just within the limits of what I could endure. On the team bus, I had two options: stand or lie down in the aisle. 

After the Dontaku Series, I flew to America for ROH, but I didn’t go to the hospital. I stood the entire flight. I definitely didn’t want to rest. It was a crucial moment in my career.

The muscles around my tailbone were stiff, and my back pain was severe, but in the following series, I advanced to the Super Junior tournament finals for the first time.

Looking back now, I truly think it was the right decision to keep competing without resting.

Five years later, during a comprehensive health checkup, a CT scan of my pelvic area revealed my tailbone was fractured. At that time, there was no pain, but once again, I thought, ‘Professional wrestlers are amazing.’

KUSHIDA was last in action for NJPW at Hiroshi Tanahashi’s Final Homecoming event on November 2nd.