Hiroyoshi Tenzan to retire from pro wrestling in August
Hiroyoshi Tenzan is retiring.
During a press conference on Monday morning, the four-time IWGP Champion announced that he would be retiring in a matter of months, with his final match taking place on August 15 during the G1 Climax semifinals at Sumo Hall.
Tenzan has only wrestled sporadically in recent years, mainly relegated to the opening match bout where he teams with his longtime tag team partner Satoshi Kojima or remaining Great Bash Heel stablemate Togi Makabe. He hasn’t wrestled since April of last year.
The career of Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Breaking into pro wrestling through their dojo in 1991, Tenzan enjoyed success in NJPW in the mid-1990s teaming with Masahiro Chono before becoming a founding member of nWo Japan in 1997. He would become a prolific IWGP Tag Team Champion, winning the titles 12 times with the likes of Masahiro Chono, Satoshi Kojima, and Osamu Nishimura.
In 2003, he won the IWGP Championship for the first time, defeating Yoshihiro Takayama. He became part of history when he lost the title to Kojima, who became the first person to ever hold the All Japan Triple Crown and IWGP titles simultaneously. Later in his career, he also held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Bryan Rose is an editor from California that has been covering professional wrestling for well over a decade. He officially joined F4WOnline as an editor in 2017.