[Full text] New Japan Pro-Wrestling President Hiroshi Tanahashi talks about the future of pro wrestling: “I will be the first president in 100 years!

As the new president

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; I want you to be a president who can look at the 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 first of all, to understand the company as a whole.

World Affairs and Wrestling

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

Attending meetings and putting my stamp on 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, it would open the door to a new business.

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.

The legacy that Tanahashi has left behind for 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,” he said. Although they went on overseas tours, they could not return to Japan, and when they returned, there were no audiences or no cheers. I was able to appeal to the fans who had left New Japan after 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 instantly became a popular wrestler.

I tried to convey the appeal of wrestling to non-wrestling fans,” he said. During Mr. Inoki’s era, male fans were overwhelmingly male. Then a pro-wrestler like me appeared on the scene. The nail that sticks up gets hammered down, but I have an iron mentality, so I didn’t get depressed. 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).

Referring to the Dodgers.

He says he has never wanted to quit wrestling.

He says, “The interesting thing about wrestling is that there are moments when things go beyond the imagination of the people watching. When you’re backed into a corner by your opponent’s special move, and then you come back before the count of three, it’s a chilling moment. I got hooked on the catharsis of pro wrestling when I was in high school, and it made life a thousand times more fun. When I actually became a professional wrestler myself, I had a much more enjoyable life ahead of me. I have always had a sense of mission to make myself famous, promote, and spread pro wrestling more in order to produce people like me.

At the recent Tokyo Dome event, his mentors Tatsumi Fujinami, Keiji Muto, and other senior wrestlers were in the ring for the ceremony, but Tanahashi made it clear that he would not be making a comeback.

When I was younger, I could get back to my original shape with a little moderation even after binge eating and drinking, but in the ’20s, it was hard to get back to my ideal body shape. In this industry, the faster your metabolism is, the better. If the top is stuck, the younger generation will not be able to grow.

Tanahashi, who is responsible for bringing women to New Japan, which has a male-dominated fan base, asserted that there is “nothing wrong with New Japan today.

The New Japan founded by Mr. Inoki had the era of Riki Choshu and Fujinami, the era of the Three Musketeers (Muto, Masahiro Chono, and Shinya Hashimoto), and the era of me and Shinsuke Nakamura. Now, however, Yota Tsuji, Shota Unno, Ren Narita, Yuya Uemura, Ryouhei Oiwa, and Voltin Oleg have been joined by Wolf Aron.

They are all in their physical prime, in their 20s and early 30s. Never in the history of New Japan has there been such a full complement of the same generation. Looking back on Japanese history, what is interesting is the period of warring factions. You never know who is going to win the world. That is why it is interesting.

However, it will be necessary to expand the business model to suit the times.

Since my debut, the entertainment options have increased tremendously, and we can watch not only terrestrial TV but also many other video productions on subscriptions. Forty percent of New Japan’s revenue comes from gate (ticket) revenue, followed by merchandise revenue and broadcasting rights fees. On the other hand, WWE, the largest overseas company, has a smaller percentage of gate revenues, and revenues from video distribution and other sources exceed gate revenues. I believe our challenge as a company is to change our revenue structure.”

After becoming president, Tanahashi even visited Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, USA. He found some hints in merchandising.

When I looked at the merchandise section, there were products from all kinds of sports brands, not dominated by one particular brand. We also collaborate with New Era and Under Armour, but we started to place more emphasis on them. Working with a brand that everyone knows is a way to gain social credibility, and it makes us feel more like a major player.

We want to elevate New Japan to a major entertainment company and bring the annual salaries of pro wrestlers on par with those of major sports professionals.

I think the only person in New Japan who has received an annual salary in excess of 100 million yen is Mr. Inoki. Wrestling has no subordinate organizations, so in order to get young children to want to become wrestlers, it is important to be famous on TV, earn a lot of money, and be popular (laughs).

After the interview and photo shoot, Tanahashi turned to the interviewers and suggested that they take a picture with him, and continued, “Please spread the word that you met Tanahashi.

I felt as if I had seen a part of the reason why Tanahashi is loved by people and has gradually expanded his base of wrestling fans.

From “FRIDAY” February 13, 2026 issue