TAJIRI’s latest move in wrestling could be his last in the sport.
The Kyushu Pro Wrestling promotion based in Japan held a press conference ahead of their show on January 22nd. One of the headliners for the event is two-time All Japan World Junior Heavyweight Champion TAJIRI.
TAJIRI has officially joined the promotion and he brought the Kyushu Pro Championship that he won on January 3rd. Proresu-TODAY has a recap on their site of the press conference and TAJIRI’s comments. He stated that he is now 52 years old and does not think he has much time left in his wrestling career.
He added that joining Kyushu could either be the beginning of the end for him or simply the end of his career.
Thank you for coming today, I am TAJIRI. I was born in Kyushu. I am now 52 years old, and I don’t think I have much time left in my wrestling career, so I think that joining Kyushu Pro Wrestling is the beginning of the end, or the end of my career. When I first heard (promotion owner) Ryota Chikuzen speak, there was much that resonated with me. I think that since I am now at my age, holding the belt like this may be my last time. At my age, I want to be the champion and have hot matches, but more than that, I want to nurture the younger generation. Among my many students, there are some who have made it to the WWE in the U.S. and others who have become the top women’s wrestlers in the world. When I told this story to Chikuzen, he said that he would be very interested in having me work in Kyushu, and I thought that this would be an organization where I could demonstrate my abilities to the best of my ability. I am also a writer, and my latest book, ‘What Pro-Wrestlers Are Showing The Audience’, was published by Tokuma Shoten last September. The other day, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported on my book, and I would like to do in Kyushu what I have been doing in stepping up the young people mentioned in this book, so if you are wondering why is TAJIRI joining Kyushu Pro Wrestling, please read this book and you will understand my philosophy, ideology and principles.
To close out 2022, TAJIRI left All Japan Pro Wrestling along with current NOAH talent Jake Lee.
