Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-10587310-20130620071127/@comment-11477779-20130702102538

That's a good question. According to Mayuri, Ikkaku's bankai was far more severely damaged than Renji's was. I don't think Renji was taken to the Soul Palace to get his zanpakuto reforged. It was more of a "while you're here" thing. I agree about the Ikkaku not being a big enough fish. It's pretty obvious that Renji is more of a major character.