Episode 84: Fighting Spirit Hanamaru

June 5, 2026

The other day, I had the privilege of hosting a "One-Day Store Manager" event at the Tokon Shop.

I was so incredibly happy that so many of you came to visit. At the same time, however, I felt a lingering frustration that I could no longer give back to you through my matches... which led me to end up eating a ton at Hanamaru Udon.

I hid the kakiage (tempura) underneath the broth and took a bite of the udon noodles♪ Kyaaaaah!!!

Whenever I eat udon like this, I always think, "Soba is great, but man, udon is delicious too♪"

And whenever I eat soba, I think, "Udon is great, but man, soba is delicious too♪" In the end, they're both just delicious. (What even is the point of this tangent? Laughs).

Anyway, with my energy tanks fully charged, I arrived at the Tokon Shop in Suidobashi.

To everyone who lined up super early for the event, thank you so much! Just so you know, Tanahashi came here straight after crushing some udon (reporting this for the third time now).

While I was in the backroom signing business-card-style giveaways, a staff member told me, "President, I bought you some lunch. Here you go!" They had prepared a large-size Tenshinhan (crabmeat omelet over rice) and two portions of gyoza from Gyoza no Ohsho.

Man, I really wanted to eat that Ohsho. However, at that exact moment, I was experiencing a massive blood sugar spike from the Hanamaru Udon and was feeling completely dazed and blissful~♪ So, I happily devoured it after the meet-and-greet event was over.

Now, let me express my gratitude once again to everyone who came to the store. Supporting active wrestlers is only natural, but for you all to gather like this for me—even though I’m already retired—honestly, I was crying behind the scenes. While eating my Tenshinhan♪

I can no longer entertain you with my own matches, but by making New Japan Pro-Wrestling even more exciting and even bigger, I hope everyone who came to the signing session can continue to have a blast with NJPW moving forward. Thank you so much.

And with that, a whirlwind weekend came to a close. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday each brought completely different types of work, making it a highly fulfilling few days.

Over the course of the weekend, I went through a daily job change: 【President】→【Team Leader】→【Store Manager】. But since my core identity is being 【The Once-in-a-Century Talent】 (laughs), I was able to tackle every single role with full effort.

I’m going to keep working harder and harder from here on out!!!