Tiger Mask sets NJPW retirement date
Tiger Mask has set a date and revealed the location for his final NJPW show.
It was already known that the fourth iteration of Tiger Mask would be retiring from the ring this July. After competing at NJPW’s Road to Sakura Genesis event on Thursday, he revealed that his last NJPW date will be on July 7 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. It’s the same venue where this version of Tiger Mask made his official in-ring debut in July 1995.
An opponent for Tiger Mask’s retirement match is not yet known, with him saying he’s not sure if he’ll be wrestling at the show or if there will just be a retirement ceremony. It’s possible that he’ll be working some already scheduled indie dates overseas after this date, but July 7 will be his last NJPW event.
“I don’t even know if I’ll have a retirement match. It might just be a ceremony. If someone I want to face comes along, I might be able to make an announcement at that time,” Tiger Mask said. “My retirement is in July, but there were some overseas matches that were already scheduled after that, and I might not be able to cancel them, so there might be some matches overseas.”
Following in the footsteps of Satoru Sayama, Mitsuharu Misawa, and Koji Kanemoto, Yoshihiro Yamazaki is retiring as the longest-serving Tiger Mask. He is a six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, most recently holding the title in 2009-2010.
Thursday’s show saw Tiger Mask team up with Shota Umino for a victory over KUSHIDA & Masatora Yasuda. At the end of the night, Tiger Mask appeared again and issued a challenge to IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI, wanting to win the title again before retirement.
While the future of the Tiger Mask character is unknown, it was recently announced that CMLL wrestler Magnus is taking over the “Black Tiger” gimmick. That character was initially introduced as a Tiger Mask rival and has been portrayed by the likes of Mark Rocco, Eddie Guerrero, and Rocky Romero.
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.