AJPW pulls wrestler from Champion Carnival after canceled flight
All Japan Pro Wrestling has made a late change to its Champion Carnival tournament.
The 2026 Champion Carnival is set to begin in Tokyo at Korakuen Hall on Sunday, April 12.
On Wednesday, the promotion announced that Cyrus will no longer be participating in the tournament. According to a statement from AJPW, the company has been unable to contact Cyrus and later discovered that he had canceled his scheduled flight ahead of the tour.
AJPW’s statement reads (translated):
“Regarding Cyrus, who had been scheduled to appear at ‘Champion Carnival 2026’ starting April 12 (Sunday) at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, we regret to inform you that it has been decided he will be absent from the entire series.”
The statement continues:
“After reaching a contractual agreement, we announced his participation and proceeded with preparations for his arrival in Japan, including visa arrangements.
However, we were subsequently unable to make contact with him. Today, when we asked his agent to confirm his flight with the airline, it was discovered that the flight he was scheduled to board had been canceled by Cyrus himself.
As of now, we have received no report from him regarding the cancellation of the flight, and as a result, we have determined that it will be difficult for him to participate in ‘Champion Carnival 2026.’”
AJPW has said a replacement for Cyrus will be announced at a press conference on Thursday.
AJPW Champion Carnival 2026 Blocks:
A Block
- Rei Saito
- Kento Miyahara
- Go Shiozaki
- Yuma Anzai
- Kuma Arashi
- Kengo Mashimo
- Talos
- Oddyssey
B Block
- Hideki Suzuki
- Ren Ayabe
- Jun Saito
- Ryuki Honda
- Daisuke Sekimoto
- Madoka Kikuta
- Xyon
- TBA (Cyrus replacement)
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.