The Next New Japan Wrestlers Likely To Retire In The Next Few Years

The Next New Japan Wrestlers Likely To Retire In The Next Few Years
August 30, 2026
By Ryan Porzl

The past decade or so has been an interesting one for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Japan's top promotion saw a rebirth for most of the 2010s before being forced into a rebuilding phase in recent years for various reasons including departures and age. As part of the rebuilding, future young lions continue to graduate the New Japan Dojo and hopefully begin what will be careers that will carry the torch in the years to come while others are coming into their own and taking the spotlight. Among these, New Japan has also seen many beloved legends close the book on their careers. Since 2018, New Japan and it's fans have said goodbye to Super Strong Machine, Takashi Iizuka, Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, and the ace himself Hiroshi Tanahashi all the while Tomoaki Honma has announced his intentions to follow. In this article, we'll take a look at New Japan names who will likely ride off in the sunset by the end of the decade.

Note: I don't own any pictures. Credit to New Japan.

Wrestlers Who Didn't Stand A Chance In WWF/WWE

Wrestlers Who Didn't Stand A Chance In WWF/WWE
August 17, 2026
By Ryan Porzl

Professional Wrestling is like a lot of things in life. To succeed, there's many factors. Not only do you need the skill but sometimes good luck and good timing can make a difference. The WWE has shown that over the decades. There's many reasons guys like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena worked and one of which was right place at the right time as they were largely perfect for the era they were in. Another reason is they had that larger than life presence as well. Basically, the planets were aligned right. Unfortunately, there were wrestlers that weren't meant to work in the WWF/WWE whether it be bad timing or lacking what was needed. In this article, we'll take a look at wrestlers that for one reason or another were doomed in the WWF/WWE. I want to point out, I'm mostly going to point out weaknesses or bad timing rather than wrestlers who didn't work due to a bad gimmick.

Note: I don't own any pictures. Credit to WWE or whomever owns them.