Former world champion delivers an emotional final backstage promo ahead of his upcoming retirement match

A former world champion, set to retire in January 2026, has drawn attention after delivering a heartwarming promo ahead of his final career match.

That star is Hiroshi Tanahashi, a pro-wrestling legend who has spent over 26 years in the business, entertaining fans in Japan and beyond. Tanahashi, a former 8-time IWGP world heavyweight champion, announced his retirement run earlier this year, which is set to conclude at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th. In his final match, the 49-year-old will face AEW Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada. Over the past three years, the Japanese star has made sporadic appearances in AEW, with the final one coming at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2025, where he was on the winning side in a lights-out steel cage match.

Ahead of that bout, the former world champion wrestled his second-to-last match at the NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome event last night, defeating Kosei Fujita. The bout was his final appearance at the famous Korakuen Hall. After his win, the veteran delivered an emotional monologue backstage about how 26 years of his career had gone by so fast.

“It went by so fast. 26 years after my debut... how did it go so fast? Think because I gave everything to it. This proves I was meant to be a pro wrestler,” said Tanahashi [H/T: Drainmaker on X]

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Former IWGP World Champion Kazuchika Okada speaks on Tanahashi's influence on his career

Before joining AEW, Kazuchika Okada spent several years in NJPW, where he was a 5-time IWGP World Champion and had a major rivalry with the legendary Hiroshi Tanahashi. In a recent NJPW interview, the Rainmaker spoke about the impact the "Ace of the Universe" had on his career.

"Yes. If it wasn’t for that first Osaka match, or if it wasn’t Tanahashi in that match then the Rainmaker wouldn’t have become what the Rainmaker was. Everybody would always say those matches were great. I do think in the end if you talk about the Rainmaker without mentioning Tanahashi, there would be a big hole there. He’s essential to everything about what the Rainmaker has been." [H/T NJPW]

It will be interesting to see whether the reigning AEW Unified Champion will beat Tanahashi in the legend's final match at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4.

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Edited by Karan Raj