Injury To Hiroshi Tanahashi Leads To Last Minute Tag Title Match In Philadelphia

New Japan Pro-Wrestling fans in Philadelphia might not get to see "The Ace" but NJPW has added an impromptu title match to tonight's Collision In Philadelphia to make up for it.

NJPW announced that Hiroshi Tanahashi suffered an injury in last night's three-way tag title match, which saw Aussie Open's Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher defeat NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley and Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada to win the titles. There is no word on the nature of Tanahashi's injury.

Tanahashi was originally set to team with Lio Rush and Tomohiro Ishii to take on Davis, Fletcher, and their United Empire comrade TJP in six-man tag action, however along with Tanahashi's injury, TJP is dealing with travel issues that have kept him from making the show, therefor NJPW has announced that Davis and Fletcher will defend their newly won titles against Rush and Ishii.

The match isn't the only surprise tonight, as Juice Robinson was suspended following his attack on Fred Rosser in Washington DC last night. Rosser will take Robinson's place in the tournament to crown a contender for the IWGP United States Championship, facing Lance Archer in Philadelphia tonight. Eddie Kingston was also pulled from the show due to injury.

Tanahashi suffered the injury on a special occasion, as the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion doesn't team with fellow former champ Kazuchika Okada too often. The match marks Tanahashi and Okada's second unsuccessful challenge for a tag title this year, coming up short in an IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match at the NJPW 51st Anniversary Event in March.