Hiroshi Tanahashi

Biography

Hiroshi Tanahashi, widely known as the “Ace,” is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, sports executive, and podcaster who is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he serves as president and representative director. He debuted in 1999 after graduating from the NJPW Dojo as a Young Lion and later went on excursion to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in the United States. He had his final match on January 4, 2026, against longtime rival Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 20. Across his NJPW career, Tanahashi became an eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, two-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, three-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, one-time NEVER Openweight Champion, one-time NJPW World Television Champion, two-time IWGP U-30 Openweight Champion, and six-time NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champion. In tournament competition, he won the G1 Climax three times in 2007, 2015, and 2018 and the New Japan Cup twice in 2005 and 2008. He is recognized as the fourth wrestler to complete NJPW’s Triple Crown and the second to achieve its Grand Slam. Outside NJPW, Tanahashi is a one-time RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion, a one-time GHC Tag Team Champion with Yuji Nagata, a one-time CMLL World Tag Team Champion with Jushin Thunder Liger, a one-time CMLL World Trios Champion with Okumura and Taichi as La Ola Amarilla, and the winner of the Campeon Universal Del CMLL 2013 Tournament. Fans, journalists, and fellow wrestlers often credit Tanahashi as the emotional backbone of NJPW during its rebuilding era, praising his hero-centered presentation, resilience, and charisma, and noting how his long-form storytelling and audience connection reshaped the role of the modern Japanese ace and influenced an entire generation of wrestlers.

Personal Details