Masato Tanaka Set to Undergo Surgery in Early September

By: Ian McCord

On August 17th, Pro Wrestling ZERO1 announced that Masato Tanaka is scheduled to be out of action following the promotion’s August 30th event in Yamanashi to undergo surgery for bilateral cubital tunnel syndrome.

ZERO1 posted the announcement on their social media, stating that Tanaka’s surgery is scheduled for early September. If all goes to plan, the promotion hopes that Tanaka will return for Megumi Kudo’s 40th Anniversary Event in October.

From Pro Wrestling ZERO1 via X:

“We would like to announce that Masato Tanaka, a member of our company, will miss all future matches following the “ZERO1 × Yamanashi Pro-Wrestling Festival” on Sunday, August 30, 2026, in order to undergo treatment and surgery (nerve decompression) for ‘bilateral cubital tunnel syndrome.’ The surgery is scheduled for early September. We sincerely apologize for the great concern and inconvenience this may cause to our loyal fans and everyone involved in the events. Regarding his return to the ring, while it will depend on his post-operative recovery, we are currently planning for him to return at the “Megumi Kudo 40th Anniversary Event—The Legend of the Heretic Princess,” to be held on Saturday, October 17, 2026. To ensure Masato Tanaka can return to the ring in top form and deliver exciting matches to all of you, both he and the promotion will do everything in our power to support his treatment and rehabilitation. We apologize for any concern this hiatus may cause, and we sincerely ask for your continued warm support for Masato Tanaka.”

Tanaka, who recently competed in the finals of the 2026 Fire Festival, took to his X account to share his decision behind getting surgery and state that he still plans to go wild at ZERO1’s Shin-Kiba event on August 22nd.

From Masato Tanaka via X:

“If I hadn’t made it to the Fire Festival finals, I might have kept stepping into the ring in my current condition. But I realized I can still aim higher, so I decided to have surgery to reach the next level. I’ll be away for just a little while, but when I come back, I’ll be delivering even harder elbow strikes than before, so stay tuned. I’m going to go wild at Shin-Kiba on Saturday, too!”

(English Translations via DeepL)

The former ZERO1 World Heavyweight Champion still has two more tag team matches on his schedule before his medical leave begins. First on August 22nd, Tanaka and Hayabusa will face off against the Kubota Brothers in Shin-Kiba. Then, on August 30th in Yamanashi, Tanaka teams with Hide Kubota to take on Takeshi Ogawa & Ryunosuke Nagai.

Everyone at Monthly Puroresu wishes Masato Tanaka a full and speedy recovery.