Following fellow legend of New Japan Pro Wrestling, Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi has announced his intent to retire on February 22nd. He is the first of the group known by fans as “The New Japan Dads” to announce retirement. Other members of this group include Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, and Yuji Nagata. They are commonly seen tagging with the Young Lions or other veteran members of the roster early on cards.
Nakanishi in particular has gotten slow in recent years, with his age starting to show. You will see him go all out only a handful time a year, with him mostly just entering a ring, hitting a big lariat, and maybe putting someone in the Torture Rack backbreaker. The best part of his matches is hearing english commentary member Kevin Kelly complain about how disgusting his “Monster Morning” breakfasts are. The undercard of a NJPW show won’t be the same without this expected piece of commentary.
Manabu Nakanishi And His Legacy
Manabu Nakanishi debuted back in 1992, at one point he was a fantastic all around wrestler with an amatuer wrestling pedigree. He was a major player for NJPW during the 1990’s, where he won his first two IWGP Tag Team Championships with Satoshi Kojima in 1997 then Yugi Nagat in 1999. He would win a third Tag Team Championship in 2007 teaming with Takao Omori as Wild Child.
His biggest achievement would come in May of 2009 when he would best Hiroshi Tanahashi to become the IWGP Heavyweight Champion for the first and only time in his career. His reign would only last 45 days before he would lose it back to Hiroshi Tanahashi at Dominion. Many fans view this title win as a favor to him for his years of dedication, as he stayed with NJPW his entire career. He was still a great performer at that time however. Those matches with Tanahashi are among the best he ever had.
Nakanishi will likely still be helping to train the future of New Japan in the dojo along with people like Jushin Liger & Yuji Nagata, passing on his 27 years of experience to ensure the future generation surpasses those who have come before. I look forward to seeing how they handle his retirement next month. My prediction for his final match is a tag team match where he will team with Yugi Nagata to face Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan, one last clash between friends and rivals before it’s all over.
