Lio Rush Reflects On His ‘Unforgettable’ NJPW Wrestle Kingdom Debut

Lio Rush reflects on making his NJPW Wrestle Kingdom debut. 

Wrestle Kingdom 17 saw Lio Rush debut on the grandest stage that New Japan Pro-Wrestling has to offer. However, on that same night, he suffered a facial injury during his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title bout, where he teamed with YOH against Catch 22’s TJP & Francesco Akira. 

Speaking with MuscleManMalcolm, Rush reflected on NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, getting cut open, and why it’s a night he’ll never forget. 

“Again, [I’m] literally [at] a loss for words. It doesn’t hit you until you watch it back a few times, but for me, I wanted to be a part of New Japan before I got signed to WWE. That was always an interest of mine, watching the guys who would wrestle over there and watching the Wrestle Kingdom pay-per-views every year and being excited to see what happens. It became the ultimate dream of mine, so for me to have been involved in a tournament that qualified me to go to Wrestle Kingdom, it was so surreal. Yeah, it was a huge moment that I’m proud of, a huge moment that I’ll never forget. I’ll definitely never forget it because I got split open pretty bad, I got some good scars on my face. Absolutely incredible, like I said, a moment that I’ll never forget,” said Rush. 

Fans can get caught up with all NJPW results in our results section.

Rush also recently commented on wishing he could face Dante Martin at the upcoming AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event. Read more here. 

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Fightful by linking back to this transcription.