Hiroshi Tanahashi says he'll continue to wrestle as NJPW President

Hiroshi Tanahashi outlined his goals as NJPW President in a press conference held Tuesday morning in Japan.

During the press conference, Tanahashi said one of his first goals is to sell out the Tokyo Dome. He also said that he wanted to have more title matches “outside of the norm.”

“As a wrestler our goals years ago was to first get 500 in smaller towns, then 1000, then more. If we pack those markets, then a sold out Tokyo Dome is achievable,” he said via NJPW Global’s translation.

Tanahashi said that he would continue to be on the road for NJPW.

“I'll be on the road with NJPW when the company is on the road, but when New Japan is in Tokyo, I will be in the office,” he said.

Tanahashi said the talk of him becoming the next NJPW President became serious back in November as a request from NJPW’s owner Takaaki Kidani. He also said that wrestlers found out about the change at the December 22 Korakuen Hall show. 

One of his goals still is to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, which he hasn’t done yet.

“As an active wrestler I still haven't won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and there is a lot left undone, but an Ace can be an Ace on both sides of the fence, I thought,” Tanahashi said. “There's an extent to where I have to live in this dual role a bit to find out just what it's like, and how much I can handle. But I've never been tired, so I think I'll be fine.”

Tanahashi was named President of NJPW on December 23, replacing Takami Ohbari. Kidani during the press conference said that he felt the next level for NJPW was to get more people into the building beyond what they had at pre-pandemic levels, and felt as a result that a new director was necessary.

“Right now, I think the next level for NJPW is to get more people in the building, not just to pre-pandemic levels, but beyond that and to have them enjoy the live experience even more,” he said. “With that in mind, we decided to make amendments to the management structure and this is the result. I'd like to see (Ohbari) continue his efforts, but with a new era, a new representative director was necessary.”