TAJIRI Indicates Pro Wrestling Career Coming To An End

There comes a time in every wrestler's career when they must take a long, hard look in the mirror and realize it may soon be time to hang up the boots. For TAJIRI, whose several-year run with All Japan Pro Wrestling as both wrestler and booker just came to an end, that time appears to be now.

At an introductory press conference for his arrival to Fukuoka-based promotion, Kyushu Pro Wrestling, TAJIRI remarked that his run with Kyushu Pro would, for all intents and purposes, be his last in wrestling.

"Thank you for coming today. I am TAJIRI, and I look forward to working with you," he said. "I was born in Tamana, Kumamoto Prefecture. I am now 52 years old, and I don't think I have much time left in my wrestling career, so I think that joining Kyushu Pro Wrestling is the beginning of the end, or the end of my career."

TAJIRI currently holds the Kyushu Pro Championship, which he won from Kodai Nozaki on January 3 in his debut for the promotion. He revealed that, after conversing with Kyushu's owner and promoter Ryota Chikuzen, the opportunity to hold titles and help younger talent was instrumental in convincing the 52-year-old to come aboard.

"At my age, I want to be the champion and have hot matches, but more than that, I want to nurture the younger generation," he added. "When I told this story to Chikuzen, he said that he would be very interested in having me work in Kyushu, and I thought that this would be an organization where I could demonstrate my abilities to the best of my ability."

It should be noted that the former ECW, WWE, and MLW veteran didn't give a precise timetable for the final wind-down of his career or if any sort of retirement tour might be in the works.