AEW wrestler to miss weekend Japan booking due to flight issues
Willow Nightingale won’t be able to make her scheduled trip to Japan this weekend to compete for Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling.
Saturday’s Summer Sun Princess was supposed to feature a match between Nightingale and Mizuki, but TJPW has announced that Nightingale will not be at the show due to her flight being canceled. Chris Brookes will instead face Mizuki at the July 18 event, which is being held at Korakuen Hall and will stream live on Wrestle Universe.
“Although our company has been working to arrange an alternative flight, it has become impossible for her to arrive in time for the start of the event, so she has been forced to withdraw from this tournament,” TJPW wrote.
“In her place, Chris Brooks will make an emergency appearance and face Mizuki in a singles match. We appreciate your understanding.”
Mizuki tweeted that she hopes to still face Nightingale someday despite this matchup falling through. Nightingale also wants the match to be rebooked at some point.
“I tried to exhaust every option, but a flight issue in the middle of my travel day has prevented me from making it to Tokyo in time,” Nightingale tweeted. “I’m sorry to fans who were looking forward to our match. Heck, I was really looking forward to it but I still l want to face @mizupyon3 one day!”
This was going to be Nightingale’s first match for TJPW since she defeated Miu Watanabe at Grand Princess 2025 in March of last year.
Willow Nightingale set for title challenge at AEW Redemption —
After nearly two months out of action due to a shoulder injury, Nightingale returned on the July 8 edition of Dynamite and won a Casino Gauntlet match to earn an AEW Women’s World Championship shot at Redemption. It will be Thekla defending against Nightingale at the July 26 pay-per-view in Montreal. That could impact the road to All In, where Mercedes Mone is set to challenge whoever the champion is.
Nightingale was AEW’s TBS Champion before having to vacate that title due to her shoulder injury.
ウィロー・ナイチンゲール、7月18日後楽園ホール大会欠場のお知らせ／瑞希の対戦相手はクリス・ブルックスに変更https://t.co/YVXWkSVopc#tjpw#ddtpro#tjpwSSP26 pic.twitter.com/2gXIGjpFJz
— TJPW 東京女子プロレス (@tjpw2013) July 17, 2026
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.