People In NJPW Reportedly Want Shinsuke Nakamura To Be Hiroshi Tanahashi’s Last Match

There are reportedly some people in NJPW who want Hiroshi Tanahashi’s last match to be against Shinsuke Nakamura. Tanahashi will wrestle his final match at Wrestle Kingdom 20 in January at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. Nakamura is among the names that fans speculated as potential names for Tanahashi’s last opponent.

Nakamura and Tanahashi worked extensively in NJPW as both allies and opponents. A fan question in Fightful Select Answers Q&A asked if Nakamura’s return to WWE TV was an indication that he is a potential opponent for Tanahashi.

The report makes it clear (as many would suspect) that Nakamura’s return to TV has nothing to do with a possible match with Tanahashi. Sean Ross Sapp said that a number of people in NJPW want Nakamura to face Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 20. However, they do not know how realistic that would be. NJPW is aligned with AEW and CMLL, and of course those companies run contrary to WWE and AAA.

Nakamura returned to WWE TV on last week’s Smackdown. The former World Heavyweight Champion answered Sami Zayn’s open challenge for the US Championship. That match was interrupted by the MFTs, with both Nakamura and Zayn laid out.