EVIL Says He’ll Retire Hiroshi Tanahashi At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19

EVIL has vowed to retire Hiroshi Tanahashi at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19. Tanahashi is set to retire at Wrestle Kingdom 20 in January of 2026, and he will kick off his final year by facing EVIL at 2025 edition of NJPW’s year-starting event. A press conference was held in Japan with Tanahashi for his retirement tour and, as related by the NJPW Twitter acount, Tanahashi talked about facing EVIL at Wrestle Kingdom 19.

Tanahashi said when asked about his final opponents: “There are people I want to wrestle, and the fans probably have their own ideas as well. For right now, I absolutely have to beat EVIL. All year there’s been nothing but interference and cheating with him, so I want to teach him a lesson in a big spot. The Tokyo Dome would be a good way to start 2025.”

EVIL responded by saying, “You come up here with your fancy press conference, but like I said in Ryogoku, you jump when I say jump. This is my company. You’ll retire when I say you retire. January 4, 2025 will be your last match when I end you!”

On potential final opponents:

There are people I want to wrestle, and the fans probably have their own ideas as well. For right now, I absolutely have to beat EVIL. All year there's been nothing but interference and cheating with him, so I want to teach him a lesson in a big…

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) October 23, 2024

EVIL: You come up here with your fancy press conference, but like I said in Ryogoku, you jump when I say jump. This is my company. You'll retire when I say you retire. January 4, 2025 will be your last match when I end you!

Tanahashi: Beating EVIL in the Tokyo Dome will be the…

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) October 23, 2024