Image Credit: NJPW
The final matches for NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi have been announced.
49-year-old Tanahashi, who will retire on January 4, 2026, at the Tokyo Dome as part of NJPW’s annual Wrestle Kingdom event, has come down to just a handful of in-ring appearances before he calls his career a wrap.
As part of a brief three-date tour later this month to hype up the Wrestle Kingdom card, Tanahashi has three more singles matchups confirmed. In all three upcoming appearances, Tanahashi will be getting a first-time ever one-on-one appearance against an accomplished or hyped junior heavyweight from the company.
Tanahashi will take on one of the most decorated active junior heavyweights around in Hiromu Takahashi on December 19. Their singles meeting will headline a card in Gunma, Japan on Friday.
Two nights later, at Light Cube Utsunomiya, Tanahashi will meet another multi-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion when he goes up against El Desperado.
Then, in his second-last match ever, Tanahashi will return to Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on the 22nd to face Kosei Fujita. The 23-year-old doesn’t have any singles titles to his name, but has proven through winning this year’s Best of the Super Junior tournament that he has a bright future in the division.
NJPW has also announced that El Phantasmo will put his NJPW World Television Championship on the line as part of the Korakuen card in an open challenge.
Jack Wannan is a journalist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He writes and reports on professional wrestling, along with other topics like MMA, boxing, music, local news, and more. He graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He can be reached at jackwannancanada@gmail.com
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