Lucas Alven, Staff Writer

On Oct. 14, 2024, Hiroshi Tanahashi celebrated his 25th anniversary as a professional wrestler by teaming in a match with Shota Umino and El Phantasmo to take on EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, the group referred to as House of Torture. The two teams clashed until Tanahashi jumped off the top rope performing his signature move, the high fly flow. After the match, Tanahashi grabbed the microphone and announced that he will retire on Jan. 4, 2026, capping off an accomplished career.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, 48, is a wrestler and the president for New Japan Pro Wrestling, which is the largest and oldest pro wrestling promotion in Japan. For the past 20 years he has been one of the biggest stars in all of Japanese pro wrestling. Tanahashi’s accomplishments in New Japan Pro Wrestling include holding the promotion’s top belt, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, a record eight times, winning the prestigious G1 Climax tournament three times and the being the second person in the company to become a Grand Slam Champion, which is a person who has won four distinct championships while wrestling for a promotion.

Throughout his 25 year  career, Tanahashi’s success extended even beyond his championship wins. He is commonly attributed to being the person who saved New Japan Pro Wrestling during its dark ages in late 1990s and early 2000s. His popularity and talent also put him at the forefront as a top star for his promotion as it began to expand into the western market.

On Oct. 23, Tanahashi held a formal press conference regarding his retirement. He explained that the reasoning behind his retirement was due to issues with keeping his knees and abs in proper shape. These issues still are not stopping Tanahashi from performing with the time he has left.

“I want to be on every tour, going forward,” said Tanahashi. “I want to wrestle singles matches with everyone on our roster, from [rookie wrestlers] to veterans.”

One question asked Tanahashi if there were any possibilities of him competing against an outside wrestler who does not work for New Japan Pro Wrestling. He expressed interest in wrestling against old rivals like Katsuyori Shibata and Shinsuke Nakamura who live in the United States and are contracted to All Elite Wrestling and WWE respectively. However, he said that those potential matches have “a lot of hurdles to overcome.”

The retirement press conference ended with the wrestler EVIL interrupting to challenge Tanahashi to a match at Wrestle Kingdom 19 on Jan. 4, 2025. Wrestle Kingdom is New Japan Pro Wrestling’s premier annual show that always takes place on Jan. 4 at the Tokyo Dome, a tradition since 1992.

The match between Hiroshi Tanahashi and EVIL at Wrestle Kingdom 19 was made official a few days after their interaction at the press conference. Their grudge match will be held in the same building where Hiroshi Tanahashi will wrestle his final match just one year later.