35-year NJPW wrestling veteran Hiroyoshi Tenzan is calling it a career.
The 55-year-old announced this week that he will retire from professional wrestling this summer, having his retirement match at NJPW’s August 15 G1 Climax card from Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.
Tenzan, who has spent more than half of his lifetime as a wrestler for New Japan, cited injury as his reason for ending his career. Tenzan underwent surgery last year due to lower back damage. He said on Monday that he has recovered “to an extent” after the surgery, but not fully.
Tenzan made his professional wrestling debut in 1990, wrestling under the trainee name of Hiroyoshi Yamamoto. Following a two-year excursion in the German company Catch Wrestling Association, he would return to NJPW in 1995 under the name he is known by today, Hiroyoshi Tenzan.
His first NJPW gold was earned later that year, when he captured the IWGP Tag Team Championships alongside Masahiro Chono. He would go on to carry the tag belts a dozen times throughout his career, many beside Satoshi Kojima.
Tenzan held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship four times, first earning it in 2003 by taking down Yoshihiro Takayama. He would later drop the title to Shinsuke Nakamura. Other accolades include being a four-time G1 Climax winner, as well as a three-time Tag League winner.
Tenzan has amassed over 3,300 matches in his career, per Cagematch.net.
It’s unclear who else will compete in Tenzan’s retirement match. More details will be revealed in the coming months.
