SANADA is leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling indefinitely.
During Monday’s New Year Dash card, SANADA displayed a farewell message on his guitar and came one day after posting, “One match remains” on his Instagram account.
On Tuesday, NJPW addressed the performer’s status with the promotion:
Effective January 6, SANADA is on an indefinite leave of absence from competition. No return date is determined at this time.
We apologise to fans looking forward to seeing SANADA wrestle, and appreciate your understanding.
SANADA entered New Japan nearly a decade ago and joined Los Ingobernables de Japon. He won the IWGP tag titles with EVIL and Tetsuya Naito and ascended the main event scene, with his peak occurring in 2023.
After winning the New Japan Cup, SANADA defeated long-time rival Kazuchika Okada at Sakura Genesis in April 2023 and held the belt for the rest of the year, losing to Tetsuya Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 18.
In 2024, he joined The Bullet Club and later defected to House of Torture, where he’s seen a reduced role.
