Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi comment on NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 match
NJPW held a press conference in Tokyo on Sunday to officially confirm Kazuchika Okada as the opponent for Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement match at Wrestle Kingdom 20.
During the press conference, Tanahashi reminded Okada that he still has a 2-1 record against him in the Tokyo Dome. However, he also noted that Okada has won their last four singles matches.
Tanahashi said:
“In the last few years I’ve lost a lot to Okada, I’ve lost our last four or five. There aren’t many who retire with a win (but that) with an opponent like Okada, I will give my absolute best. I plan on having people saying I can still go, not that I’m broken down.”
When asked about Okada being his final opponent, Tanahashi continued:
“In the end, I wanted someone I had a deep connection to.”
While neither would give away much regarding how the match came together, Okada says he knew he had to be Tanahashi’s final opponent as soon as he heard his longtime rival was retiring.
“I knew it had to be me,” Okada said. “There are a lot of people in NJPW and other companies that wanted to wrestle Tanahashi and won’t get the chance, so I’ll carry those hopes with me.”
Okada also stated that he won’t be back to his NJPW Rainmaker character for the match, but rather he will be the new AEW version.
“I won’t be the old Rainmaker from NJPW, I’ll be the AEW Rainmaker. In AEW I’m really doing whatever I want, so I might just hit Tanahashi low, roll him up and send everyone home crying.”
“At the Tokyo Dome, I want there to be a lot of tears, on a lot of levels,” he continued.
Wrestle Kingdom 20 will be the fourth Tokyo Dome match between Tanahashi and Okada. Tanahashi won at Wrestle Kingdom 7 and 9 before Okada finally got a win at Wrestle Kingdom 10. Okada has won their last four singles matches, in the G1 Climax tournament in 2019, 2021, at Battle in the Valley 2023, and New Beginning 2024.
Notes from today’s press conference in Tokyo are available on NJPW1972.com.
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.