NJPW President and all-timer Hiroshi Tanahashi is used to breaking records. However, his latest achievement speaks volumes of his quality and longevity.
Ace’s most recent victory over Yota Tsuji in the 2025 edition of G1 Climax took Tanahashi to 100 wins in the prestigious tournament. The 48-year-old veteran is the first wrestler to reach the century.
Predictably, 2024 runner-up Tsuji made it very difficult for Ace to reach that coveted 100, targeting his knee throughout. But in typical Tanahashi style, a sweet Dragon Suplex followed by a flurry of High Fly Lows was enough to stop Tsuji in his tracks. An understandably emotional Ace thanked the audience for their support before exiting the arena.
Crucially, the victory keeps Tanahashi well in contention for the G1 Climax title. His latest victory moved him up to six points in Block A. He now sits joint sixth out of ten, but only two points off the lead.
In one of the tightest tournaments in recent memory, Blocks A and B remain wide open. Block A, from top to bottom, is covered by two points. A four-point gap covers first and last place in Block B (excluding the withdrawn Gabe Kidd). But the joint lead of eight points is shared by eight of the ten competitors.
Ace is competing in his final G1 Climax, having confirmed that he will retire at Wrestle Kingdom 20 in January 2026. Having debuted in G1 Climax all the way back in 2002, here are some interesting statistics that contributed to Hiroshi Tanahashi’s incredible century.
G1 Climax 2002: The Beginning of Hiroshi Tanahashi’s Journey
The 25-year-old made an immediate mark at his first G1 Climax in 2002. Marked as a star of the future alongside Shinsuke Nakamura and Katsuyori Shibata as the new ‘Three Musketeers’, Ace debuted with a respectable two wins from five matches. But the big storyline of his tournament came on day two, as Tanahashi defeated seven-time world champion and two-time G1 Climax winner Kensuke Sasaki in well under two minutes.
It was merely a taste of what was to come.
Tanahashi’s Trio of G1 Titles: How Does He Stack Up?
Ace’s most recent G1 triumph in 2018 took him to three titles overall. Since NJPW’s premier tournament was rebranded as G1 Climax in 1991, only one wrestler has won more editions than Tanahashi: the legendary Masahiro Chono, with five. Tanahashi is part of a group of three wrestlers who are joint third in this list with three titles overall.
Level with Ace are Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Tetsuya Naito. If Tanahashi can win the 2025 tournament, he will move into joint second alongside four-time winner Kazuchika Okada.
An Impressive Five G1 Climax Finals
Ace, once more, is only behind Masahiro Chono for overall G1 final appearances. Hiroshi Tanahashi’s five finals place him second on the list behind Chono’s unmatched six finals. Despite 11 finals between them and having shared the ring well over 100 times, they have never faced each other in G1 singles competition, let alone in a final.
Tanahashi’s first G1 final came at his third appearance, losing to fellow three-time winner Hiroyoshi Tenzan in 2004. After a pair of underwhelming editions, Ace triumphed at the sixth time of asking, defeating NJPW legend and 2001 winner Yuji Nagata to win his first G1 in 2007. It would be another six years before Ace made the final again, this time losing to Tetsuya Naito to give him his first G1 title.
Tanahashi’s second G1 title came in 2015, defeating fellow Musketeer Shinsuke Nakamura in a grueling 32-minute encounter. Ace’s G1 Climax hat-trick came at the expense of Kota Ibushi in 2018, who was appearing in his first final. But the loss clearly gave Ibushi the hunger for G1 success.
He went on to win the following two G1 tournaments – the first to go back-to-back since Tenzan (2003/2004). Ace is in his seventh year since a G1 final – the longest drought in his career.
Here’s hoping that the record eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion can go out on a high note in his final G1 Climax tournament.
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