Hiromu Takahashi has become the latest wrestler removed from the planned AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door card, as a fever has prevented him from travelling to Chicago.
The 22 June episode of AEW Dynamite saw the surprise announcement that two members of Los Ingobernables de Japon, Hiromu Takahashi and Shingo Takagi, would be competing at AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door. They were announced as Darby Allin and Sting’s partners against Bullet Club.
However, Takahashi has contracted a fever, meaning he’ll be unable to fly into Chicago for the event. AEW has confirmed the match will still go ahead as Allin, Sting, and Takagi vs. The Young Bucks and El Phantasmo, with Hikuleo now watching on from ringside.
Hiromu Takahashi (@TIMEBOMB1105) has a fever and can’t travel to America to compete at Forbidden Door. The match will now be a trios match with #BulletClub (@youngbucks & @elpwrestling, with @Hiku_Leo in their corner) vs #DudesWithAttitudes (@Sting, @DarbyAllin & @Takagi__Shingo) pic.twitter.com/jFRUaofU3H
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) June 25, 2022
News of ‘The Ticking Time Bomb’ being removed from the Forbidden Door card makes him just another name on a long list of talent unable to compete on the pay-per-view for various reasons. Most notably, CM Punk and Tomohiro Ishii both picked up injuries, resulting in their respective replacements in Jon Moxley and Clark Connors.
The Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez went through the entire Forbidden Door match listing during the latest Bryan & Vinny Show, explaining why he thinks that all but one match on the current card was changed in some way. This multi-man tag team match, for example, is believed to have been thrown together.
It comes as All Elite Wrestling endures one of its most grueling stages yet, with a large portion of its roster currently out of action with an injury. Jungle Boy, Kyle O’Reilly, The Bunny, and Skye Blue were confirmed as the latest additions to the list.
Hiromu Takahashi last wrestled on 21 June as part of NJPW’s New Japan Road tour, failing to unseat Taiji Ishimori as the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. This was followed by Takahashi’s ex-rival KUSHIDA returning to the company for the first time in over three years.