Hiroshi Tanahashi's final match in Scotland has been confirmed!
This Sunday is the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion’s final Forbidden Door. For those who are in the dark about Hiroshi Tanahashi, the veteran is officially retiring at Wrestle Kingdom 20. Where will he go once his retirement is all said and done? Well, Tanahashi is the President of New Japan Pro-Wrestling! He stated back in an October 2024 press conference that he’ll simply transition to his backstage role once his full time in-ring career ends.
“This time I have left as a wrestler and executive will give me a lot of valuable experience so I can transition into full-time office life with confidence. The people we have now are definitely more than capable to bring NJPW into its best era ever, and I have no concerns whatsoever,”
Tanahashi is fresh off his final G1 Climax, where he successfully managed to get eight points, though he was unable to get into the quarter finals.
Last week, Tanahashi was confirmed for the upcoming pay-per-view in a Lights Out Steel Cage match. Tanahashi will team with Will Ospreay, Darby Allin, Kota Ibushi, and Kenny Omega to take on Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Gabe Kidd, and the Young Bucks.
But before that huge ten man tag team match, Tanahashi will have his final match in Scotland (and possibly Dynamite) as he’ll team with JetSpeed (Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight) to face Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and Claudio Castagnoli.
That match joins a rather stacked card when the challengers for the AEW World Tag Team titles will officially be determined between FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) and Brodido (Brody King & Bandido). This should be a hot show, especially with the Scotland crowd.
Check out what’s being advertised for the August 20th edition of AEW Dynamite:
- Athena & Mercedes Mone vs. Toni Storm & Alex Windsor
- Will Ospreay has a chat with Jon Moxley ahead of Forbidden Door
- Hangman Page appears
- Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mike Bailey, Kevin Knight, & Hiroshi Tanahashi
- World Tag Team Title Qualifier Tournament Final: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) vs. Brodido (Brody King & Bandido