I will be the first president in 100 years! New Japan Pro-Wrestling President Hiroshi Tanahashi talks about ″the future of pro wrestling″.

A Fresh Start

Hiroshi Tanahashi, 49, who will end his 26-year career as a professional wrestler at the annual New Year’s event at Tokyo Dome on January 4 and concentrate on his job as president of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (New Japan), rounded his thick chest plate into a small circle and offered his business card, laughing that he gained weight in the two weeks since his retirement. Indeed, his tailor-made one-piece suit is so tight it’s practically ripped off.

I haven’t weighed myself because I’m afraid to get on the scale, but I must have gained five kilograms,” he said. I went out for ramen twice a year when I was working, but this year alone, I’ve gone out six times. The ramen restaurant near my office is really good.

Tanahashi used to wear hair extensions in the ring, and in recent years he has kept his long hair as his trademark, but after his retirement, he went to the trouble of having his hair cut short to give it a fresh look.

After his retirement, Tanahashi went out of his way to have his hair cut short and trimmed. I cut my hair so that I wouldn’t have to live that kind of life. As president, I would like to find a different kind of joy and fulfillment and use that as my new motivation.”

It was December 2011 when Takaaki Kitani, president and CEO of Bushiroad, New Japan’s parent company, approached him about becoming president, and he accepted. As a professional wrestler, Tanahashi had been self-proclaimed as “one of the best wrestlers in 100 years,” and had been recognized as such by the wrestling world and fans alike.

I had never worked for a company before, so I thought it would be impossible for me to suddenly become president in my first year as a working adult. Owner Kiya told me, ‘I don’t want you to be a symbolic president, but a president who can look at numbers and take the helm of the company. Since then, I have learned everything I know about management, including how to read and write financial statements, the company’s profit structure, and management methods, with the goal of becoming the first manager in 100 years.

In addition to the 50 wrestlers who belong to New Japan, there are 70 employees. Including outside staff, New Japan has 150 employees.

I tried to communicate with everyone, from the youngest to the most experienced, to understand what kind of work they were involved in and to understand the company as a whole.

Pursuing Company Business

A long day for the new president, who arrives at the company in Nakanosakaue at the 10:00 a.m. start time.

Attending meetings and affixing his stamp to approval documents are important tasks, but the most important thing for me is the morning meeting. How can we make New Japan Pro-Wrestling more exciting in the future? What are the fans looking for now? I try to hold morning meetings that motivate all employees. If what I have said in the morning meetings so far could be made into a daily calendar–now a new business door has opened for me (laughs).

After sitting in the president’s chair until 6 p.m., he has been visiting the gym and dojo to prepare for his retirement match against Okada Kazuchika.

After returning home at 9:00 p.m., I would check Slack and, if everything was okay, write my serials every day. Now, I focus more on company business, having dinners and replying to e-mails during the time I was training.”

Even after Tanahashi’s appointment as president, New Japan continues to maintain its position as the largest company in the industry.

In ’19, New Japan Pro-Wrestling recorded its highest profits, but since then the company has gone through a difficult period due to the COVID-19 crisis. However, in the second half of last year, the company recorded its second highest profit after ’19. This year, my retirement show was the first time since (Antonio) Inoki’s retirement show at the Tokyo Dome in 1998 that it was “packed to capacity,” so I think we can expect further earnings.

Tanahashi’s legacy to New Japan is not limited to ticket and merchandise revenues.

The top New Japan wrestlers in their twenties and early thirties are the generation that was hit by the COVID-19 crisis just as they were about to advance in their careers. It was good that they went on overseas tours, but it was difficult for them to make a triumphant return, and when they returned, there were no audiences or no cheers. I was able to show the fans who had once left because of the Corona disaster that New Japan now has such cool and interesting fighters through my retirement show.

Tanahashi, a member of the wrestling club at Ritsumeikan University, passed three entrance tests before joining New Japan in 1999 at the age of 22. At the time, the two major combat sports, K-1 and PRIDE, were at their peak, while pro wrestling was in a slump in popularity. While younger wrestlers followed the so-called “strong style” of black shorts, Tanahashi, with his long, brightly dyed hair, brought a fresh breeze to the square ring and quickly became a popular wrestler.

I tried to convey the appeal of wrestling to non-wrestling fans,” said Tanahashi, “because it is not easy for fans to come back once they have left. During Mr. Inoki’s era, male fans were overwhelmingly male. Then a pro-wrestler like me appeared on the scene. The stakes are high, but I have an iron mentality, so I didn’t let it get to me. The number of female fans gradually increased, and recently, more and more of these “pujoshi” got married and became mothers, and now they come with their husbands and children. I am proud to say that I have made professional wrestling a genre that can be enjoyed by the whole family (laughs).

In the January 29 issue of “FRIDAY February 13” and the paid version of “FRIDAY GOLD,” he talks about a day in the life of President Tanahashi and his management strategy based on the Dodgers.

For more details and multiple photos, click here↓.

From the February 13, 2026 issue of FRIDAY