20 Years of Hiroshi Tanahashi

Hi guys,

In a time where darkness seemed to shroud New Japan, a crop of young lions made their way to the dojo with dreams of making it. Amongst the newest NJ prospects, a Young Hiroshi Tanahashi pledged to make his mark on the company and bring it into the light. 20 years later, the Ace of New Japan is still that shining beacon touching the hearts of crowds across the world. 20 years of going out each show and giving the fans what they want, pouring his heart and soul into every match he's in and representing NJ the way it deserves to be.

So, in celebration of Tanahashi's 20th wrestling anniversary, I'm going to have a look back at what makes the Ace the centre of New Japan and in the heart of it's fans. I'll have a look at his humble days as a Young Lion, his rise to stardom and his current status as a father figure to the up and coming talent.

(前ツイートの続き)…と、クリアファイルを見た娘が「同じだね」と持ってきた #クレヨンしんちゃん のファイル。同じやな(笑) pic.twitter.com/tF4gwpbC0F

— 棚橋 弘至 feat.鉄の意志 (@tanahashi1_100) October 7, 2019

After graduating from the dojo, Tanahashi made his New Japan debut on the 10th October 1999 losing against a more experienced Lion Shinya Makabe (or you might now know him as just Togi Makabe). If you go onto New Japan World, the first match in Tana's archives is a month later against Makabe in Hiroshima. Here, he has that same fire and passion (if not the amazing hair) and the drive to be the best version of himself. This mentality stayed with him throughout the years, especially during the years where he was at the top of the company and burst through the ranks to make his mark on New Japan and bring it into the light...

Winning his first IWGP Heavyweight title in July 2006, Tanahashi decided that the weight of the entire company would fall on his shoulders. This led to a new era in New Japan and the start of the Ace's takeover of not only the wrestling business but also the hearts of fans across the world. During this time, he cemented his place at the top of the card consistently putting on amazing matches and bouts. This was also the time where we saw the start of one of the greatest New Japan feuds of all time, Hiroshi Tanahashi v Shinsuke Nakamura. Whilst in the company, Nakamura and Tana consistently put on amazing first class matches whether for the heavyweight or IC title and on stages as big as Wrestle Kingdom and as small as Korakuen hall.

Fast forward to 2019 and, after losing both the IWGP Heavyweight and Rev Pro title on his first defence, a lot of people think that The Ace's days are numbered. However, that's far from the truth. As well as being one of the father figures in the company helping all the new talent, in Tana's case especially Yota Tsuji, there is still a lot of fight left in the Ace. To this day, he is still putting on amazing matches and pushing up that standard for everyone else to follow like his matches with ZSJ which have been some of my favourite (especially the one from Royal Quest). Even with a dodgy knee and arm, it looks like Tana hasn't lost a step in 20 years.

This amazing 20 year career has seen The Ace win more titles and tournaments than humanly possible with 8 IWGP Heavyweight reigns, 2 IWGP Intercontinental reigns, 2 time G1 and NJ Cup winner and 3 time NEVER Openweight 6 man tag champ- I mean the list is even longer (which you can find on his Wiki). That's not even counting his titles in CMLL/ NOAH/ Rev Pro and the number of awards he's won from feud of the year with Okada and Tokyo Sport's MVP 4 times.


There must be a reason why Tanahashi has managed to stay on top for so long and stick in the hearts of fans. Maybe it's his amazing wrestling style that perfectly combines the traditional high flying with the Japanese strong style and basics taught in the dojo. Maybe it's his ability to have amazing feuds with whoever he is put in the ring with including, more recently, the likes of Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Zack Sabre Jr and Jay White. Or... maybe it's just the fact that Hiroshi Tanahashi is able to have fun in the ring and sometimes act a bit goofy and weird like his recent attempts at joining Honma in a double kokeshi and his air guitar. He is the perfect superstar and has everything you would want in a top guy.

For me personally, Tanahashi is one of those guys that I always smile when watching. He is that shining light and just lights up the ring whenever he steps into it bringing out the best in his opponents. However, from experience, I can also say that Tanahashi is one of the nicest men in professional wrestling. I was lucky enough to meet the him at Royal Quest this year and it lived up to my expectations. He was not only so polite, complimenting my artwork, but he was also so charismatic and engaging, not to mention speaks really good English. I also have to admit, he's as handsome (if not more) in real life!

Although 20 years of Tanahashi has past, the world is still hisoyster and I see a good number of title runs in his future! So. here's to another 20 years of Hiroshi Tanahashi, the Ace of New Japan! And, from me, thank you Ace for everything!

As always, talk to me, let me know what you think about what I do on here! You can do that, and up to date with all things wrestling and be first to know when I post something new on here, with my social media at: (@Wrestling_Chat on Twitter and Wrestling Chatter on FB and WrestlingChatter96 on IG)!

I also have a new podcast on MixCloud https://www.mixcloud.com/WrestlingChatter/ which I post fortnightly and will use to keep you up to date on different promotions and just where I can chat even more about wrestling!

Until next time,

Bye