Gedo teases opponent for Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement match at Wrestle Kingdom
NJPW is teasing that Gedo has someone in mind for Hiroshi Tanahashi’s final opponent.
Following Final Homecoming today in Gifu, Gedo approached Tanahashi backstage and asked if a decision had been made regarding who Tanahashi will wrestle at the Tokyo Dome on January 4. When Tanahashi said the opponent hasn’t been decided yet, Gedo offered to make arrangements for him, saying he “can make it happen.”
NJPW posted a transcription of part of their exchange (translated):
“Gedo: ‘Tanahashi-san, have you decided on your opponent for your retirement match yet?‘
Tanahashi: ‘I haven’t decided on my opponent for my retirement match yet.‘
Gedo: ‘It hasn’t been decided yet… If that’s the case, well… I’ll prepare it. Just let me know.”‘
One name often mentioned as a possible final opponent for Tanahashi is Shinsuke Nakamura. The possibility of Nakamura facing Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 20 was addressed by Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez recently on Wrestling Observer Radio.
Meltzer said on the show:
“Nakamura, on the first night in Tokyo, he was doing some Tanahashi mannerisms. So there’s been a lot, a lot of talk about Tanahashi and Nakamura at the Tokyo Dome show. I would just say it’s not a done deal right now.”
“Could it happen? I mean, Nakamura has in his contract he can do stuff in Japan, that was part of the deal that he signed. It’s a weird political thing, because obviously New Japan and AEW work very closely together, and Nakamura is a WWE guy.”
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.