Tetsuya Naito has officially wrapped up his time with NJPW after decades of competing, but he isn’t ready to retire just yet.
At NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2025 – Tag 2, Naito wrestled his final match for the company. He joined forces with BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, and Shingo Takagi in an Eight-Man Tag Team Match, where Los Ingobernables de Japon defeated Just 4 Guys (Taichi and TAKA Michinoku), Shota Umino, and Tomohiro Ishii.
Amid growing speculation surrounding Naito’s future in professional wrestling. Naito clarified that he has no plans to step away from wrestling. Instead, he intends to focus on recovery after undergoing eye surgery and stem cell treatment for his right knee.
In a new interview with Tokyo Sports, Tetsuya Naito dismissed retirement rumors. He will use the time to get his body right while preparing for the next phase of his career. “Some people may be under the wrong impression, but I’m not retiring or anything like that. First of all, I want to take the time to maintain my body, and then I want to move on to the next stage. I want to continue preparing for the next stage while undergoing various treatments.”
Naito’s expects the next surgery to help him see better. Right now, he doesn’t have any future plans and wants to focus on healing and taking care of his body before starting the next part of his career.
Tetsuya Naito promises fans: “You’ll see me again”
Tetsuya Naito wrapped up his final NJPW match with a win and reassured fans they haven’t seen the last of him. While he didn’t confirm when or where he’ll return, he made it clear that he plans to come back.
Following a victory in his farewell match, Naito said, “I’m not sure if it will be the next tour, or next year, or the year after, I don’t even know if it’ll be the New Japan ring, but you’ll see me again, somewhere.”
Naito, who has wrestled for NJPW since 2006, has now stepped away from the company. It will be interesting to see what comes next for him.
