NJPW Legend Hiroyoshi Tenzan Announces Retirement from Pro Wrestling

Hiroyoshi Tenzan has spent the last several months training to recover from injuries that forced him to pull out of scheduled matches. Today, the thirty-five year veteran of the ring announced his retirement from professional wrestling.

「新日本でやってこれて本当に幸せです。あともう1試合、身体を作ってしっかりと試合できるように頑張ります」

天山広吉が“現役引退”を発表！
『G1 CLIMAX 36』8月15日(土)両国大会でラストマッチへ！https://t.co/HL935ziAoo#njpw pic.twitter.com/6sDOj2MkOI

— 新日本プロレスリング株式会社 (@njpw1972) May 11, 2026

Tenzan issued the following statement, a translation was provided by NJPW:

Thank you for coming today. It’s been 35 years for me in wrestling, but on August 15, I will officially retire. I don’t know whether it’s been a long 35 years or if it’s gone by in a flash, but I know that I’ve had so much support from so many people, and I’m so very thankful. I came into this business not knowing right from left, but to come as far as I did, and to have lived as a pro-wrestler is something that I’m truly grateful for. If there’s anything that I can do after I retire to help NJPW in any way then I would appreciate the chance.”

Tenzan announced his last match will be taking place on August 15 in Tokyo’s Ryogoku Sumo Hall as part of NJPW’s G1 Climax 36 tour. Tenzan won the G1 Climax three times during the 2000s. New Japan is saying goodbye to a number of its legends this year, as Tiger Mask IV’s retirement match will be taking place in July.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan spent the lion’s share of his career with New Japan, the promotion that trained him to become a wrestler. He held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on four occasions & the IWGP Tag Team Championship twelve times alongside longtime partners Masahiro Chono & Satoshi Kojima. Tenzan has had brief trips to North America over the years, including a match with “Macho Man” Randy Savage at Starrcade 1995 as part of the World Cup of Wrestling.