Real Reason Hiroshi Tanahashi’s Final Opponent Reveal Was Delayed

Why did NJPW really delay naming Hiroshi Tanahashi’s last-ever opponent?

Hiroshi Tanahashi will compete in the final match of his illustrious career at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th 2026. Many fans had contemplated the possibility of WWE’s Shinsuke Nakamura being Tanahashi’s final opponent, but that proved to be fantasy booking.

The politics of WWE being involved with AEW’s main ally looked to make that scenario very unlikely. Instead, it’s now been revealed that perhaps Tanahashi’s greatest ever rival, AEW Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada, will be Tanahashi’s final opponent.

Hiroshi Tanahashi Announcement Held Off

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that NJPW delayed naming Okada because they wanted to run an angle at one of its shows where he confronted Tanahashi:

Okada was there. The reason they held up the announcement is that they wanted Okada to show up at one of the cards, and he didn’t go until this weekend. That’s why Tanahashi at the press conference, he said be patient because they were waiting to do the angle in the ring.

Meltzer added that Nakamura was interested in doing it, but no deal was ever done with WWE for that to happen:

Nakamura was interested in doing it. I don’t know what happened. I asked about it at the time from WWE and there was no deal but he did have something in his contract but they’d still have to approve it.

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