Hiroshi Tanahashi returns to Wrestle Kingdom on Jan. 4.
A pioneer of the event, Tanahashi defended the IWGP heavyweight championship at the inaugural Wrestle Kingdom in 2007, then headlined the show the following year. He defeated Keiji Muto in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom III, a seminal moment that helped lay the foundation for the brilliance to come.
Now, at Wrestle Kingdom 17, Tanahashi will team with Muto in his final match for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. They will partner with rising star Shota Umino in a six-man tag against Los Ingobernables de Japon’s Tetsuya Naito, Sanada and Bushi.
“I am so happy to team with Muto before his retirement,” says Tanahashi, speaking through a translator. “I have always learned a lot from Muto, and I think there will be a lot I can learn from this experience teaming with him as opposed to opposite him. I think it’s a great learning opportunity for Umino as well.”
There are multiple layers to this bout. Muto and Sanada share a long history that includes a mentor-protégé relationship. It is within reason to view Naito as the spiritual successor to Masahiro Chono as New Japan’s “Dark Ace.” Chono and Muto were eternal rivals, which began in New Japan when Chono defeated the Great Muta in 1994, igniting a flurry of battles.
Another element is that Naito is seeking to avenge his Wrestle Kingdom 6 loss to Muto, so it would make sense for either Naito or Sanada to pin Muto for the win. The world may also finally learn who the better mist-spitter is between Muto and Bushi, another reason to look forward to this six-man tag.
The presence of Umino is an integral factor in this match. A star in the making, Umino wants to connect himself to the spiritual fighting spirit of Tanahashi and Muto, an extraordinarily difficult task given their legendary careers.
“Umino has really worked on developing that body,” says Tanahashi. “He has a great natural look as well, so all he needs to do is reps at this point. And he definitely has the fighting spirit.”
Wrestle Kingdom 17 will be held in honor of the late Antonio Inoki, the founder of New Japan, who died in October. Tanahashi fondly recalled memories of his time with Inoki.
“I never talked purely one-on-one with him as far as I can recall,” says Tanahashi. “But in any situation, he had a talent for making people around him happy. I do have a picture of myself with him that I really hold dear.”
Tanahashi is a staple of Wrestle Kingdom and a pillar of New Japan’s resurgence over the past two decades. An eight-time IWGP world champion, it is strange to think that Tanahashi has yet to have a run as IWGP world heavyweight champion.
Now 46, Tanahashi continues to operate at an elite level. He still believes he can fight his way back into the main event, potentially as soon as next year at Wrestle Kingdom, to challenge for the IWGP world heavyweight championship.
“By 2024, the whole world will be all the way back from the struggles we went through during the pandemic,” says Tanahashi. “By then, I’d love to be champion and promote professional wrestling.”
Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.
