Tetsuya Naito Says He Had To Get Nine Stitches After NJPW WrestleKingdom 18 Main Event

Tetsuya Naito stands at the top of the NJPW card as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t sustain some scars getting there.

The LIJ leader spoke with NJPW about his triumph at WrestleKingdom 18, when he defeated SANADA in the show’s main event to capture the world championship. However, he tells the website that he sustained an eye injury that required nine stitches after he and SANADA collided heads in the process of hitting his signature Destino finisher.

Right, my eyelid. We clashed heads when I went for that last Destino. So after the match, I got to the back, gave my comments, went to the trainer’s room and got six stitches. I really didn’t want them and asked if there was another way, but didn’t have a choice. Those stitches hurt like hell. The anesthetic before- can you imagine getting a shot on your eyelid? But the doctor’s all happy go lucky about it. Actually on the last Korakuen shows of the year I got hit on the other side, and that was three stitches on that eyelid. So I had nine stitches across two eyes within two weeks of one another,

One of Naito’s biggest rivals, Kazuchika Okada, will be departing the promotion in February, a move that has garnered the Rainmaker heavy interest from AEW, TNA, and WWE. Wrestling Headlines will keep you informed on where he might end up.