Hiroshi Tanahashi Shares That NJPW Attendance Has ‘Calmed Down’ Since He Retired

Tanahashi speaks about the attendance numbers at NJPW shows.

It was at Wrestle Kingdom 20 in January 2026 that Hiroshi Tanahashi wrestled Kazuchika Okada in what was billed as Tanahashi’s retirement match.

Tanahashi is now fully immersed in his role as NJPW President, and he dove into that during an interview with Proresu-TODAY. Tanahashi shared with the outlet that the attendance numbers at NJPW shows have ‘calmed down’ since he retired.

“I don’t mean this as an excuse, but… the analysis that comes up most often is that, ‘The attendance has temporarily calmed down because Hiroshi Tanahashi retired,’” he laughed. “There’s a bit of a dilemma in thinking, if Tanahashi were still around, we could have maintained the numbers, or at least stopped the decline.”

NJPW is wrapping up its New Japan Cup tournament, and the winner of that will challenge Yota Tsuji for the IWGP Heavyweight Title on April 4th at Sakura Genesis.