AEW Star’s Role In NJPW Wrestle Kingdom Main Event Confirmed
There are more details about a major NJPW match involving a current AEW champion.
The subject of retirements in pro wrestling is a big deal of late because a lot of wrestlers we watched over the last 25 years feel like it’s the right time to call it a career.
WWE legend John Cena had his final match at Saturday Night’s Main Event, while AJ Styles plans to retire in 2026, and Brock Lesnar is rumored to be retiring in 2026 as well.
Another wrestling legend, NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi, plans to retire at the Wrestle Kingdom 20 event on January 4th when he faces AEW’s Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada, who is perhaps Tanahashi’s greatest rival.
The rivalry between Tanahashi and Okada goes back decades, when Tanahashi was a top star in NJPW while Okada was a rising star who had to prove he was on the same level as Tanahashi. That’s why Tanahashi should face Okada in his final match, even though Okada is full-time with AEW, not NJPW.
NJPW Announces Tanahashi Facing AEW’s Okada Will Main Event Wrestle Kingdom
On New Japan’s website, they confirmed the Tanahashi-Okada match will be the main event at Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome.
Before an event closing special retirement ceremony for Hiroshi Tanahashi, one last singles match sees him take on his greatest rival for the final time.
The history of Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada, spanning matches in Japan and America, from the infamous ‘Rainmaker Shock’ when a young Okada defeated then champion Tanahashi in a massive 2012 upset, through multiple title clashes, G1 Climaxes and even surprising tag team combinations is one well told, but what is key to this final bout is the venue it’s staged in.
While Okada has defeated Tanahashi nine times to the Ace’s five wins, and while all of the pair’s most recent fights, up to Osaka in 2024 in Okada’s last singles bout as a full-time NJPW wrestler, the Tokyo Dome tells a different story. The two have main-evented three times, with Tanahashi holding the 2-1 advantage.
While Okada’s return in 2012 and immediate capturing of Tanahashi’s IWGP title set the stage for their first Wrestle Kingdom meeting at Wrestle Kingdom 7, Okada had not arrived on the global stage with the greatest of them all until Wrestle Kingdom 10 in 2016, their last Dome battle to date, and one where Okada finally arrived as the top star in professional wrestling at the time.
Much has changed over the last ten years, but Tanahashi feels the Tokyo Dome magic is still within him to defeat an Okada who is at the top of his game. Promotional pride plays an added role tonight, as voices across the NJPW landscape have asked the Ace to successfully defend NJPW from a Rainmaker who is now on the AEW side, and all that comprises, including his disdain for the fanbase.
Will Okada level up the scoreline with Tanahashi, or can the Ace get his hand raised one last time, as we see one of the greatest of all time, for the last time?
Regarding his AEW career, Kazuchika Okada is currently competing in the Continental Classic, and he holds the Continental Title, which was merged with the International Title to form the AEW Unified Title.
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