Hiroshi Tanahashi’s final UK match set for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door
As Hiroshi Tanahashi’s final year as a wrestler continues, his final match in the United Kingdom is now official.
Announced Saturday night by the man himself, the NJPW president will step into the ring at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door on Sunday, August 24th at The O2 Arena in London, England.
Tanahashi made a surprise appearance at last Sunday’s AEW Double or Nothing, joining Brody King and Tomohiro Ishii in making the save for Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Adam Cole following their loss and subsequent beatdown by The Don Callis Family (Josh Alexander, Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Lance Archer, Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta).
He has been part of every Forbidden Door to date, failing to defeat Jon Moxley in a match for the then-interim AEW World title in 2022; losing to then-AEW World Champion MJF in 2023; and then losing in a trios bout that featured himself and The Acclaimed falling to The Elite’s Young Bucks & Kazuchika Okada in 2024.
In April, the 48-year-old wrestled his final match in the United States, losing to Konosuke Takeshita at NJPW Windy City Riot.
It was first announced in October 2024 that Tanahashi was set to retire at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4, 2026, at the Tokyo Dome.