Tiger Hattori and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) are synonymous with one another since Hattori made his debut with the promotion in the early 1980s. While Hattori has left the company twice for brief stints, his nearly 40 year associate with NJPW has garnered him respect around the wrestling world.
While known as a referee, Hattori spent several years as a wrestler and manager in the United States, working with the famous pro wrestling trainer Hiro Matsuda. In the early to mid-2000s, Hattori became the head foreign scouting official for NJPW, helping recruit talent from around the world.
As the date of his retirement event grew closer, colleagues showed their love for Hattori through social media.
明日は服部さんの引退試合！
こんなに一緒に写真撮った先輩いないよ！
みんな会場で！
俺泣かないから！ pic.twitter.com/0SlKWBgQSD— Kazuchika Okada (@rainmakerXokada) February 18, 2020
( ；∀；)！ https://t.co/tBQLS1oNzi
— 棚橋 弘至 (@tanahashi1_100) February 18, 2020
Making short jokes with my mentor @TigerHattoriNY 😂
I can’t thank you enough for all that you have done for me. Let’s do it big tonight. #ThankYouTiger #njpw #njroad pic.twitter.com/oTfi8c7NKy
— ROCKY ROMERO🇵🇷 🇲🇽 🇺🇸 🇯🇵“Chico El Luchador” (@azucarRoc) February 18, 2020
NJPW also published a video honoring his career.
The Event Card
The opening match sees former Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe/Tomoaki Honma) and Toa Henare against NJPW Los Angeles (LA) Dojo Young Lion Gabriel Kid, along with a pair of NJPW Noge Dojo Young Lions Yuya Uemura and Yota Tsuji.
The second match highlights an upcoming IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match as Roppongi 3K (Sho/Yoh) and new RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay face Rocky Romer, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Tiger Mask IV. Romero and Taguchi make the V2 challenge against Roppongi 3K on February 20th.
The third match sees former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions FinJuice (Juice Robinson/David Finlay) and Yoshi-Hashi against the Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) team of IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi, Evil, and Bushi.
The headline and marquee matches feature former 6x IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions TenCozy (Satoshi Kojima/Hiroyoshi Tenzan), Manabu Nakanishi, and Yuji Nagata against the Suzuki-Gun team of former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Eldesperado, Taichi, and Minoru Suzuki.
The second co-headline features Colt Cabana, Toru Yano, Kota Ibushi, and Hiroshi Tanahashi facing the Bullet Club team of current IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Guerrillas Of Destiny (Tama Tonga/Tanga Loa), Bad Luck Fale, and Jay White.
The marquee match highlights the marquee NEVER Openweight Championship marquee match of tomorrow night as challenger Tomohiro Ishii and his CHAOS unit mates Kazuchika Okada and Hirooki Goto face the LIJ team of IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental ‘Double Champion’ Tetsuya Naito, NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi, and Sanada.
According to the NJPW card, the event will end with Tiger Hattori’s retirement ceremony. However, NJPW has often opened such events with ceremonies in the past.
