The Ace of New Japan Pro-Wrestling has a brand new position in the company, but that doesn’t mean he’s leaving his more familiar one behind just yet.
Just a few days after Hiroshi Tanahashi was announced as the new president and representative director of NJPW, he took part in a press conference to discuss the changes to the promotion’s leadership team. Among the topics were Tanahashi’s goals in his new role, including selling out the Tokyo Dome for Wrestle Kingdom — though he cautioned that it could take several years to achieve.
Tanahashi also made it clear that he’s not retiring from the ring just yet, and that he will continue to wrestle while attending to his duties as president on days when there are no shows (translation h/t to NJPW Global).
“I’ll be on the road with NJPW when the company is on the road, but when New Japan is in Tokyo, I will be in the office,” Tanahashi said. “We have a lot of wrestlers here in NJPW, and in that off time, it isn’t on me necessarily, but our wrestlers to combine preparation and training with promotional work as well.”
He also predicted that he’d have no problem meeting the demands of both roles.
“There’s an extent to where I have to live in this dual role a bit to find out just what it’s like, and how much I can handle,” he said. “But I’ve never been tired, so I think I’ll be fine.”
Tanahashi noted the feeling that he had as a fan before becoming a wrestler and how he’d like to recapture that, with people “going home and over dinner or beers talking about how much fun the show was.” He also said he told the roster about his promotion on Dec. 22, the day before it was officially announced, and that even longer tenured veterans gave their support.
It certainly can’t hurt in the arena of public perception to have the most recognizable star from New Japan’s time of peak popularity during the 21st century as its top executive. It’s clear there’s work to be done to reach those heights again, but Tanahashi certainly appears to be up for the challenge.
And he’s not giving up on lofty ambitions in the ring either, even at age 47.
“I’m thinking about what I have left as an active wrestler,” he said. “Through that time the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship is still my top goal. Maybe people might balk at that answer! But I will give it my all in the ring and out.”
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