Hiroshi Tanahashi confirmed that he and Shinsuke Nakamura had discussed having one last match before retiring from Wrestle Kingdom.
Nakamura made a name for himself in NJPW before signing with WWE in 2016, working with Tanahashi through the promotion’s development and becoming one of his most notable rivals. Before Kazuchika Okada was officially announced as Tanahashi’s final opponent, there were some rumors that Nakamura might make a surprise appearance, as he had previously done with Noah, as the final opponent.
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This has always been considered a “pipe dream” given WWE’s competitive position with NJPW and its partners AEW and CMLL. But Tahashi confirmed in an interview with Tokyo Sports ahead of Wrestle Kingdom that they had discussed having another match, but he also mentioned the holdup.
“When Nakamura came to Japan, I talked about all kinds of things and we said we wanted to do this one last time,” he said. “But, there are a lot of things going on.”
Tanahashi stated that another of his deceased compatriots, Tetsuya Naito, who left NJPW last year to join NOAH, will likely be in attendance at Wrestle Kingdom.
“Nakamura has always been my rival, and Naito joined New Japan because he liked Tanahashi,” he continued. “I hope they think, ‘I’m not wrong.’ I hope they think, ‘I’m glad I was against Banahashi,’ ‘I’m glad I admired Banahashi,’ and I hope all the fans think, ‘I’m glad I supported Banahashi,’ and I hope it all has a happy ending.”
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Tanahashi will have his final wrestling match in the main event of Sunday’s Wrestle Kingdom event, where he will face Okada in front of the Tokyo Dome.
Read more: Every WWE star leaving in 2025 so far
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Read the original article about Wrestling Inc.
