Due to illness, Kota Ibushi is out of the NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam main event.
NJPW announced tonight that Hiroshi Tanahashi is replacing Ibushi in the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestle Grand Slam. Tanahashi will challenge Shingo Takagi for the title.
Tanahashi defeated KENTA in the main event of Summer Struggle in Nagoya this morning. After the match, Tanahashi spoke to the crowd and said he was ready to replace Ibushi at Wrestle Grand Slam if needed.
"As previously reported, Kota Ibushi has been diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia, and as a result has missed the Summer Struggle tour. After careful monitoring of his recovery, Ibushi is unfortunately unable to compete at Wrestle Grand Slam where he was scheduled to face Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship," NJPW announced.