Hiroshi Tanahashi announces in-ring return date at Wrestling Dontaku, gets beaten down by Bullet Club

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Best of the Super Jr. 26 Finals just keeps getting more and more interesting.

At Wrestling Dontaku 2019 Night Two today (for full results check here), not only did we get another dip at the vignette for the mystery man who’s challenging Juice Robinson at that show, we found out what’s next for the Once in a Century Ace himself, Hiroshi Tanahashi.

He came down and cut a promo talking about how he just had his cast removed after his elbow surgery and how over the past year he’s gone from the highest of highs after winning the G1 Climax to the lowest of lows, going so far as to lay down on the mat face-down to punctuate his point, before announcing his in-ring return for June 5 at the Best of the Super Jr. 26 Finals. He finished by declaring his intent to once again rise to the uppermost echelons of NJPW by winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

“Switchblade” Jay White couldn’t leave well enough alone, of course, and came down as Tanahashi finished. He told the Ace that he has to start at the back of the line, even behind Hirooki Goto, who he beat at Wrestling Hi no Kuni. After a brief distraction from Gedo, White struck, beating Hiroshi down at length to make his point and leaving him writhing in the aisle with an ice pack tending to his surgically repaired elbow.

While the match hasn’t officially been made, you gotta think that another round against the Switchblade is Tanahashi’s return match at the BOSJ finals and that it’ll serve as sort of a #1 contender’s match to determine who faces Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Dominion 6.9 mere days later.

There you have it, folks

Excited to have the 1/100 Ace back in action, Cagesiders?