8-time World Champion makes shocking AEW return after 11 months at Double or Nothing 2025

A former eight-time World Champion made a shocking return to AEW at Double or Nothing 2025. The star in question is none other than Hiroshi Tanahashi, the President of New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

This past Thursday, on the May 22 edition of Collision, Adam Cole, who was lending his voice on commentary, challenged Don Callis to pit his "big 3" against him and Paragon in a trios match. The Invisible Hand accepted the challenge on behalf of his "family," and the bout was later made official for AEW Double or Nothing 2025.

Cole and his longtime teammates, Roderick Strong and Kyle O'Reilly, faced off against Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander, and Kyle Fletcher this Sunday in Arizona. The former Undisputed Kingdom members put forth a valiant effort against The Don Callis Family, but it was Fletcher who brought the victory home after dropping O'Reilly with a sheer drop brainbuster.

After the bout, the remaining members of the heel faction, RPG Vice and Lance Archer, hit the ring to dish out more punishment on Paragon. However, the Callis Family's onslaught was thwarted by the arrival of Brody King, Tomohiro Ishii, and, surprisingly, New Japan legend Hiroshi Tanahashi. The Ace of NJPW helped the babyfaces clear the field, with Cole finally taking out The Protostar.

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The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion last appeared on an AEW pay-per-view at Forbidden Door 2024, where he unsuccessfully teamed with The Acclaimed to lose to The Elite.

About the author

Anurag is an AEW writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling. He holds a BA and MA degree in English along with a TEFL certification to teach English. Before Sportskeeda, he worked as a Content and Correspondence writer at Nayabad Titas, a theater group. He has also worked as a English language tutor.

To ensure complete accuracy, he uses internet resources, social media platforms, and especially pieces composed by his peers to find solid, verified information that he presents as objectively as possible. Thanks to his academic background, he can research different subjects thoroughly.

Anurag's interest in wrestling began as a child. He watched RAW and Smackdown frequently from age 10 or 11 and was officially hooked by the YES Movement story in WWE heading into WrestleMania 30.

As a lifelong wrestling fan and lover of stories, Anurag would read news, articles, and other content about the talent and events he enjoyed watching. His understanding of the business continued to grow with time, and his interest in the art and sport of wrestling led him to pursue a career as a writer.

Apart from writing, he loves to read books, watch movies and television programs, play and listen to music, and write poetry and fiction.

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Edited by Anurag Mukherjee