All Japan Pro Wrestling will pay tribute to Taishin Nagao with two scheduled memorial observances, including a ceremony at its September 22 event at Korakuen Hall and a full memorial event in Nagao’s hometown of Kushiro on October 28.
Nagao died in September 2025 at the age of 21. His passing came after he was struck by a tour bus in May 2025. He was hospitalized and placed in intensive care due to traumatic shock caused by abdominal pressure before later passing away.
The September 22 event will include a 10-bell salute in Nagao’s memory, one of professional wrestling’s most solemn and enduring traditions. AJPW will also install a memorial altar in the Korakuen Hall lobby, allowing those attending the show to remember Nagao before the action begins or during their visit to the venue.
The company has asked attendees to observe a specific guideline for the altar. Flowers will be accepted, but AJPW will not accept other offerings. That direction gives fans a clear way to participate in the tribute while respecting the arrangements established for the ceremony.
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A Korakuen Hall Tribute on September 22
Korakuen Hall is one of the most significant buildings in Japanese professional wrestling. Located in Tokyo, the venue has hosted generations of major cards, championship matches, tournament bouts, debuts, retirements, and remembrances across the industry. For AJPW, holding the 10-bell salute there gives the moment a public setting at a venue deeply connected to the history of the sport.
A 10-bell salute is not a competitive segment and does not require words to communicate its meaning. Wrestlers, officials, staff, and fans traditionally pause together as the bells ring, creating a moment of collective recognition for someone who has died. In Nagao’s case, the salute will take place nearly a year after his death, underscoring that his absence continues to be felt within the AJPW community.
The memorial altar will add another personal element to the September 22 program. While the bell salute will bring the entire building together for a formal tribute, the altar offers attendees an opportunity for quieter reflection. AJPW’s request that guests bring flowers only is an important practical detail for anyone planning to attend and honor Nagao at Korakuen Hall.
Memorial moments in wrestling often exist alongside a card that must continue as scheduled, but they can still reshape the atmosphere of an event. The September 22 ceremony will place remembrance at the center of the evening without changing the purpose of the show itself. It is a chance for supporters and those who worked around Nagao to acknowledge him in a setting shared by the wider wrestling audience.
Memorial Event Planned for Nagao’s Hometown
AJPW will follow the Korakuen Hall ceremony with a dedicated memorial event on October 28 in Kushiro, Nagao’s home city. The decision to hold that event in Kushiro gives the tribute a direct connection to the place he came from, bringing the remembrance beyond Tokyo and into the community most closely associated with his roots.
The October 28 date is being presented as a memorial event in Nagao’s honor. AJPW has confirmed the location and purpose of the show, while the announcement establishes the event as a separate occasion from the September 22 ceremony. The two dates will therefore serve different but connected roles: a formal tribute at Korakuen Hall followed by a hometown event dedicated to preserving Nagao’s memory.
For a wrestler, a hometown event carries particular emotional weight. Professional wrestling careers are built in rings far from home as performers travel, train, and attempt to earn opportunities. A memorial show in Kushiro brings Nagao’s name back to the city identified as his home, allowing the tribute to recognize not only his connection to AJPW but also his connection to the people and place that knew him before and beyond his time in the ring.
The announcement does not specify match lineups, participants, or additional ceremony details for the October 28 show. Those details have not been confirmed. What is clear is that AJPW intends for the event to stand as a memorial presentation rather than simply another stop on its schedule.
Remembering Taishin Nagao
Nagao’s death was a devastating loss, particularly given his age. He was 21 when he died in September 2025, leaving behind a future that had barely begun. The circumstances leading to his death began in May 2025, when he was struck by a tour bus. He was subsequently hospitalized and treated in intensive care after suffering traumatic shock caused by abdominal pressure.
The severity of that medical situation was evident from the time he required intensive care. Nagao later passed away, and the loss resonated across the wrestling world because of both the tragedy of the accident and the youth of the wrestler involved. The memorial events now announced by AJPW reflect a continued commitment to honoring him rather than allowing the passage of time to diminish recognition of what happened.
There is a special sadness attached to the death of a young wrestler. Wrestling is a profession built around progression: learning the craft, earning the trust of peers, developing an identity, and pursuing larger stages. Every performer’s path is different, but a life cut short at 21 inevitably leaves unanswered questions about what could have followed. AJPW’s planned tributes do not attempt to answer those questions. Instead, they provide time and space to remember Nagao as a person whose life and place in the company mattered.
The September and October observances also show how a promotion can support remembrance in more than one form. The Korakuen Hall salute is ceremonial and collective. The lobby altar creates a physical point of reflection for fans. The Kushiro event then takes the tribute to Nagao’s home city, where the meaning of the occasion will extend beyond the normal rhythm of a touring wrestling schedule.
Why These Dates Matter
The September 22 and October 28 events will be important moments for AJPW, its roster, its staff, and the fans who wish to honor Nagao. The September ceremony arrives at a venue synonymous with Japanese wrestling tradition, while the Kushiro card gives the memorial an intimate geographical connection to Nagao’s own life.
Both events also create opportunities for different groups to share in the remembrance. Fans who regularly attend AJPW in Tokyo will have the chance to participate in the Korakuen Hall tribute, including by bringing flowers for the memorial altar if they choose. Those connected to Kushiro will have an event in the city Nagao called home. The promotion’s plan ensures that the commemoration is not limited to a single announcement or a brief pre-show acknowledgment.
In wrestling, the ring is where performers are most visible, but the industry is sustained by communities around it: fellow wrestlers, trainers, employees, families, local supporters, and fans. A memorial ceremony recognizes that loss is felt by all of those groups in different ways. AJPW’s approach for Nagao honors that reality through a formal Tokyo ceremony and a hometown event one month later.
The 10-bell salute on September 22 will offer a moment of silence and unity inside Korakuen Hall. The memorial altar will provide a designated place for floral tributes, with AJPW making clear that other offerings should not be brought. Then, on October 28, the company will bring its memorial event to Kushiro.
Those two dates will ensure that Taishin Nagao is remembered by the promotion and the people who continue to carry his memory. At 21, his life ended far too soon. The upcoming AJPW tributes will give fans and colleagues a respectful opportunity to pause, reflect, and honor him together.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.