New Japan Pro Wrestling announced today that Brock Lesnar had been stripped of the IWGP championship as he will no longer be returning to defend the title due to "visa issues". New Japan Pro Wrestling announced also announced that there will be a tournament to crown a new champion on Monday.

Speculation among a number of people is that Brock Lesnar may well have been scheduled to drop the belt to Hiroshi Tanahashi. Looking towards his MMA future, a loss wouldn't help his case.