Hiroshi Tanahashi wrestles final match at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20
Hiroshi Tanahashi’s final match and retirement ceremony was one for the ages.
The now-retired NJPW legend lost his final match to Kazuchika Okada in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 20, taking one more rainmaker from his longtime rival. The two had wrestled a classic match, with Tanahashi at one point hitting Katsuyori Shibata’s PK and Shinsuke Nakamura’s boma ye (kinshasa in WWE) as tributes to other longtime rivals of his. After the match, Okada took the microphone and thanked Tanahashi as he made his exit.
Once Tanahashi recovered, the retirement ceremony began. Names from Tanahashi’s past including Jay White, Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Shibata, and Keiji Muto all entered the ring and gave Tanahashi flowers, with Shibata locking up with Tanahashi one final time. They all posed for photos, then took another one together as a group.
But there was one final surprise: Bushi and Tetsuya Naito, another longtime rival who made his first appearance in NJPW since his exit last year. He spoke briefly, saying that while he may never wrestle in NJPW again, he is looking forward to meeting Tanahashi in NJPW again one day. Naito then did his trademark LIJ pose, putting his fist in the air. Tanahashi then did the same as Naito quickly made his exit.
Tanahashi took time to thank the fans for coming, saying he was finally able to see a sold out Tokyo Dome and urged fans to continue supporting NJPW. Before the traditional ten bell salute, Tanahashi played the air guitar several times to the delight of the fans and even had them do the wave. He started to make his exit, but instead of leaving hopped he hopped on a cart with his name on it as he circled around the Tokyo Dome, waving to fans one final time. After getting off the cart and returning to the stage, Tanahashi spoke for the last time.
“I’m so, so happy I fell in love with professional wrestling,” he said.
After giving his aishtemasu (I love you) catchphrase one final time, he finally made his exit, disappearing into the smoke behind him. The stream ended with Tanahashi’s old theme song ‘High Energy’ playing as a video showed highlights of his career.
Bryan Rose is an editor from California that has been covering professional wrestling for well over a decade. He officially joined F4WOnline as an editor in 2017.