Quoted By:
>Jake Lee (37) of United Empire (UE), who will challenge Yota Tsuji (32) for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s February 11 Osaka event, has revealed the harrowing behind-the-scenes reality of his so-called “Vacation from Hell.”
>Jake suffered an injury to his right knee in September 2024 and was sidelined for a long period. He made his return at the January 4 Tokyo Dome event, saying, “I’ve come back from a vacation from hell,” and those words were by no means an exaggeration.
>He had sustained the serious injury of a ruptured right patellar tendon and underwent surgery immediately. However, while diligently rehabbing in January of last year, he was then diagnosed with a lumbar disc herniation and spinal canal stenosis, forcing him to undergo yet another surgery. Even after the operation, his symptoms did not improve, and he endured months of sleepless nights due to intense pain.
>After undergoing a second lower-back surgery last May, he was finally able to start running again in September.
>“To be honest, the first time I was able to properly take a bump was in the ring on January 4. Even when I tried during training, I could tell I was unconsciously protecting myself. Still, while I was out, I kept studying how to use my body—right down to the structure of the human body itself. I thought that if it still hurt after going that far, I should honestly give up. But the moment I took that bump, the words ‘I can do this’ flashed through my mind.”
>In the endless days when he couldn’t see a way forward, the thought of retirement crossed his mind more than once.
>“Hundreds—no, thousands—of times. There were periods when I’d already concluded within myself, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ But then I’d think, ‘There’s no way I’m ending it here.’ I believe that living means fighting something. If I decided right then and there that it was impossible and did nothing, I felt I’d spend the rest of my life running away,” he reflected.
