Shinsuke Nakamura gives shoutout to Hiroshi Tanahashi at WWE house show

At a WWE house show in Japan, Shinsuke Nakamura gave a subtle shoutout to a former NJPW rival who will be retiring soon.

Nakamura returned to his home country on Friday for the first of two WWE live events at Sumo Hall in Tokyo. The show featured a tag team bout where Nakamura & Jey Uso were victorious over Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed. Following the match, Nakamura briefly spoke to the crowd and used Hiroshi Tanahashi’s catchphrase “Aishitemasu” — which means “I love you” in Japanese.

“Tokyo! WWE is back at [Sumo Hall] again this year. Are you having fun? Let’s have more fun than any other city in the world,” he said. “Japan, I love you!”

Tanahashi took note of the reference by tweeting the following: “Huh? I thought I heard something…”

Coming up together at the same time, Tanahashi and Nakamura were both partners and rivals during their NJPW careers, helping lead the company to its modern era success. Nakamura departed NJPW for WWE in 2016.

Tanahashi — who is now the president of NJPW — is finishing up his in-ring career with his retirement match set to take place at the Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2026. An opponent for the match has not been announced yet. Nakamura being an option would appear to be unlikely given that NJPW is close partners with AEW & CMLL and is not aligned with WWE. Pro Wrestling NOAH and Marigold are promotions that WWE works with in Japan.

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