Tiger Mask addresses whether character should continue after his retirement
Tiger Mask IV doesn’t feel strongly one way or the other about whether the iconic character should continue after he steps away from the ring.
The longest-serving Tiger Mask in history, Yoshihiro Yamazaki will retire at Korakuen Hall on July 7. His final night as an active competitor will see Tiger Mask IV face Black Tiger (with Rocky Romero under the mask for one night only) and “Dynamite Kid” Tommy Billington in separate matches. There will be a five-minute time limit for each bout.
Ahead of the retirement show, NJPW’s English-language website posted an interview with Yamazaki and asked whether he believes a new Tiger Mask should be introduced. If there is another iteration of the character, Yamazaki thinks it should be someone who aspires to be as well-rounded as the original Tiger Mask Satoru Sayama.
“I don’t really have an opinion one way or the other,” Yamazaki responded. “I think it would be fine if somebody wanted to do it. Purely when it comes to the different techniques and athleticism, today’s young wrestlers are even better than Sayama-sensei, but with the overall level so high, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. So it would have to be someone that has Sayama’s accuracy, the weight to what he did, the attitude and the scariness. That’s what I think a new Tiger would need.
“If it’s just a case of a decent hand, good high flyer, then I don’t think it should continue. If you look at all the other Tigers, even Sayama-san himself, you can see how hard it is to keep the Tiger Mask thing going.”
Tiger Mask lineage —
Yamazaki followed Sayama, Mitsuharu Misawa, and Koji Kanemoto in the Tiger Mask lineage. But, as a protege of Sayama’s, Yamazaki only considers Sayama and himself to be true versions of the character. The gimmick was introduced in 1981 as a spinoff from a comic book. Sayama’s feud with Dynamite Kid still stands as perhaps the most influential rivalry in junior heavyweight wrestling history.
For NJPW, Tiger Mask IV was a six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, with most of that success coming in the 2000s. He did unsuccessfully challenge for the title on his retirement tour, losing to DOUKI in April when DOUKI was still champion before dropping the title to YOH.
Yamazaki assured fans that he will still be around and keeping a close eye on NJPW despite retiring.
“Thank you so much for all the support over the years, and I’m sorry I haven’t always been able to live up to expectations, but I’ve always been aware of just how important all of you are to me,” he said. “It’s thanks to every one of you that I’ve been able to wrestle for so long. And even though Tiger Mask IV the wrestler is retiring, I’ll still be around, I’ll still be working and I’ll be keeping a stern eye on NJPW, so I hope you’ll keep supporting New Japan. Thank you for these 31 years!”
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.