New Japan Pro Wrestling has just appointed a new President and Representative Director as Taro Okada moves to part-time duties. That person is none other than NJPW’s ACE, Hiroshi Tanahashi. The change was made following a meeting with the board of directors and shareholders on December 23. Okada will move to part-time as a director alongside Hitoshi Matsumoto (Chief of Business Production, TV Asahi) and effective immediately, Takami Ohbari and Michiaki Nishizawa are stepping down from their positions as President/Representative Director and Director respectively.
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On Saturday, December 26 at 1 p.m. JST (Friday, December 25 at 11 p.m. EST/8 p.m. PST) a press conference will be held to address the changes to the company. Additionally, Tanahashi will appear live at the Tokyo Dome forย WrestleKingdom 18 on January 4 to speak to fans in his new role for the first time.
Tanahashi has been a mainstay with NJPW for over two decades, joining the company in 1999. In that time he’s highly regarded as the “ACE” of New Japan, becoming the second Grand Slam Champion. Tanahashi is a three-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, an eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, NEVER Openweight Champion, IWGP Intercontinental Champion, and a four-time NEVER Openweight Tag Team Champion which he currently holds with Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii.
It’s unclear how the appointment will affect his in-ring career, if at all. Just hours ago Kazuchika Okada revealed that the team plans on “heating up” NJPW in 2024 not just in the singles division but the tag team division as well. “We’re going to heat up both the singles and tag divisions,” Okada stated in his post match comments at NJPW’s Road to Tokyo Dome show. “We’re not just limiting ourselves to tag matches. We can liven things up in a lot of ways. We’re gonna carry this place on our backs. We’re the team that can handle it.”
What are your thoughts on the new role for the ACE? Let us know in the comments!
