Lio Rush Cleared for In-Ring Action, Tournament Spot Announced, Possible NJPW Title Shot

Lio Rush has revealed that he has received medical clearance to return to ring action.

Rush has been sidelined after suffering an injury on January 30 at PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles 2022. He later revealed that he tore three different muscles while wrestling Buddy Matthews and sustained a shoulder injury. He needed surgery to have the tears repaired.

Rush took to Twitter today to say that he is fine to go, and his comeback to the ring was confirmed.

Rush tweeted, “CLEARED.”

Rush was then revealed as the fifth entrant in the British J-Cup 2022 by Rev Pro. He joins Robbie X, Leon Slater, Will Kaven, and Connor Mills as confirmed entrants for the eight-man event.

Rush commented on the event, writing, “TS BEEN 6 YEARS . @RevProUK [UK flag emoji] SEE YOU THERE.”

The British J-Cup 2022 will be held on Saturday, October 22 at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage, England. There will also be a match between Minoru Suzuki and Dan Moloney.

Rush will compete in his second RevPro match. In April 2017, he worked the Epic Encounter event, teaming with Ryan Smile and Swerve Strickland for a six-man loss to Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks.

Rush is expected to face IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori in the near future. In a backstage promo released this weekend, Ishimori challenged Rush and gave him a championship opportunity. This would be a rematch of their encounter, which took place one year ago on September 26, 2021, during the NJPW Autumn Attack tapings, with Rush winning.

Rush made a surprise debut at NJPW Capital Collision in mid-May, promising the crowd that if cleared, he will participate in the junior heavyweight division. He also provided commentary for Hikuleo and IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White’s tag team victory over Kazuchika Okada and Rocky Romero. Rush has promised to wrestle Okada one day.