PRESS CONFERENCE
Japanese Pro Wrestling's Global Vision
Hiroshi Tanahashi, CEO New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Aaron Wolf, Tokyo Olympic Gold Medalist & Professional Wrestler
15:00-16:00 Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Language: The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation.
Fifty years ago, boxing legend Muhammad Ali and Japanese professional wrestling star Antonio Inoki faced off at the FCCJ, exchanging taunts and challenges ahead of a fight in Tokyo that went down in history. The colorful press conference remains one of the Club's most celebrated ever, and to mark its 50th anniversary, we have invited Japan's pro-wrestling world to visit again.
We are pleased to welcome Hiroshi Tanahashi, a former star wrestler and now CEO of the wrestling company that Inoki himself helped found. When Tanahashi retired from the ring in January, he sold out Tokyo Dome. Joining him will be Aaron Wolf, who won gold in judo for Japan at the Tokyo Summer Games -- his mother is Japanese, his father American -- before making his pro-wrestling debut this year.
They will talk about their sport and its plans to go global. At a time when both Japan's pop culture and its professional athletes are big abroad, from "One Piece" to Shohei Ohtani, Japanese pro wrestling aims to catch the wave. It will hold a G1 Climax tournament in Chicago next month as it resumes a push into the United States delayed by the pandemic. Join us for what will be another historic press conference.
How to attend:
Please register by emailing front@fccj.or.jp with your name and the name of your media outlet. FCCJ members should also include their membership number. Doors will open 15 minutes before the event.
How to watch online: https://www.youtube.com/c/FCCJchannel/live
How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/3DrJPvLWXeYxcGHB8
TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Doors open for TV crews only at 30 minutes before the event. FCCJ will limit live-streaming of FCCJ-hosted press conferences to Club members only. Non-members will no longer be permitted to live-stream these events. However, non-members may still film for reporting purposes and use footage after the press conference.
Professional Activities Committee