Hiroshi Tanahashi is supposed to be in the twilight of his career. Yet that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Now 46, Tanahashi should be focused on his postwrestling endeavors. But the industry icon still presents an aesthetic in the ring that evokes emotion and harnesses excitement. He remains in astounding shape, possesses a well-defined presence that makes people invested in his work, and hits his high notes better than any other fan favorite. As evidenced by his matches in the United States at the end of last month, where he defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey at the Multiverse United pay-per-view, and Daniel Garcia at Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor, Tanahashi continues to set an elite standard.
“I discovered wrestling in my childhood, and it made my life 100 times more enjoyable,” says Tanahashi, speaking through a translator. “I want to share that feeling with everyone.”
New Japan Pro-Wrestling returns to the United States this weekend for two shows, beginning with Capital Collision in D.C. on Saturday, followed by Sunday’s Collision in Philadelphia. Tanahashi will be in the main event on both nights, most notably in a tag team title match Saturday. He will team with Kazuchika Okada in a triple-threat match for the New Japan Strong openweight tag titles against Aussie Open and reigning champs Motor City Machine Guns.
Tanahashi and Okada would add a level of prestige to those titles that no one else possibly could, and it would lead to tag matches against the wildly talented Guns and vastly underrated Aussie Open.
“I can rely on Okada,” says Tanahashi. “He has that ability to turn the tables when the chips are down, and that fires everybody up, myself included.”
Though they are longtime rivals, Tanahashi and Okada—who are NJPW’s version of Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan—share a similar drive.
“Okada is trying to make New Japan Pro-Wrestling more exciting, whether in Japan, the U.S., singles or tag team division,” says Tanahashi, who restored NJPW back to prominence over the past two decades. “He has the same desire as I do.”
Tanahashi and Okada have wrestled a lion’s share of classics against each other, though it has become a rare sight to see them engage in a singles match. They wrestled in the G1 Climax tournament in 2019, and then didn’t touch in a one-on-one encounter until Battle in the Valley in February, when Okada successfully defended the IWGP world heavyweight title.
“It had been a long time since I wrestled Okada, and I definitely felt a big gap between me and him,” says Tanahashi. “Okada wasn’t blown up at all during the match; I couldn’t drive him into the wall like I had been able to in the past. That’s what I remember the most from the match.”
This weekend continues an eventful spring for Tanahashi. In addition to a six-man tag Sunday in Philly, where he will team with Tomohiro Ishii and Lio Rush against TJP and Aussie Open (which could conceivably be changed to a tag title defense if Tanahashi and Okada are victorious Saturday), Tanahashi also has a must-see match next month against Will Ospreay in Long Beach, Calif. The winner will advance and wrestle either Juice Robinson or Lance Archer at Dominion in June before challenging Kenny Omega for the IWGP United States title, most likely at Forbidden Door later that month.
Although the smart money is on Ospreay winning and getting another shot at Omega after their Wrestle Kingdom classic in January, it would also be a thrill to watch a rematch of Omega and Tanahashi. They wrestled one of the most captivating matches in the history of Wrestle Kingdom four years ago, and their clash of styles would make for an intriguing bout in an AEW ring.
Tanahashi relishes his trips to the U.S., and he is eager to deliver his best possible work in the ring.
“I am so thankful for everyone’s support,” says Tanahashi. “Please send your energy to Japan. I will do my best to make wrestling even more exciting in return.”
Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.
