Tiger Mask to wrestle twice at NJPW retirement show
At his NJPW retirement show, Tiger Mask IV will renew one of his best rivalries while giving a nod to the character’s iconic past.
NJPW has announced that Tiger Mask will wrestle twice at his July 7 retirement event, with both bouts having five-minute time limits. One match will see Rocky Romero don the Black Tiger mask again for one night only as he and Tiger Mask face off for the last time. The other match pits Tiger Mask against “Dynamite Kid” Tommy Billington, the nephew of the first opponent Satoru Sayama ever faced when the Tiger Mask character debuted in 1981.
Yoshihiro Yamazaki, who first became Tiger Mask for Michinoku Pro in 1995, is retiring as the longest-serving Tiger Mask. The character was previously played by Sayama, Mitsuharu Misawa, and Koji Kanemoto.
During his NJPW career, Yamazaki has been a multi-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight and Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. Though Black Tiger is now played by the CMLL wrestler formerly known as Magnus, NJPW is calling back to Tiger Mask IV’s greatest rivalry by having Romero compete as Black Tiger here.
A match between Tiger Mask and Tommy Billington was originally supposed to happen for GCW/JCW earlier this year at Jersey J-Cup 2026, but Tiger Mask had a personal emergency and ended up being unable to make it. Romero instead filled in, facing Billington as Black Tiger.
The July 7 event is being held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. One day prior to that, Korakuen is hosting a Road to G1 Climax event that includes Tiger Mask & Jado facing Taiji Ishimori & Gedo and Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Dick Togo in a tornado tag match.
Tiger Mask retirement show (Tuesday, July 7 live on NJPW World) —
- Five-minute time limit: Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger IV (Rocky Romero)
- Five-minute time limit: Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid” Tommy Billington
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.