AJ Styles Believes Hiroshi Tanahashi Would’ve Been Successful If He Made the Jump to WWE

Legendary NJPW wrestler and company president, Hiroshi Tanahashi, will call it a career after stepping into the ring one last time at next year’s Wrestle Kingdom at the Tokyo Dome in January. Speaking to Tokyo Sports, former in-ring rival and WWE Champion AJ Styles commented on how the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and New Japan Ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi, would’ve fared in WWE if he ever made the jump. Tanahashi also shared his thoughts on the topic.

AJ Styles assessed that Hiroshi Tanahashi would’ve done “great” in WWE if he had made the move earlier in his career. He stated on Tanahashi, “I think he would have done great. There are a lot of anime fans here, including my own children.” Styles continued, Tanahashi is just like an anime character, even his hairstyle, so I think he would have been a hit, and he has a deep understanding of this industry, so he would have definitely been successful.”

Tanahashi informed the outlet that he himself once inspired to join WWE at around 2004 to 2004, before he began his rise as the Ace of NJPW. The wrestler stated on wanting to join WWE around that time, “It was around 2004-2005, I think. It was a time when the timing just didn’t work out. I hadn’t reached the top in New Japan either, so I thought to myself that I wasn’t good enough anywhere else.”

However, Tanahashi has no regrets regarding his career and never making the move to WWE. He stated, “I have no regrets. I was able to work so hard in New Japan, and other wrestlers have been able to make their dreams come true.”

Styles himself made the jump to WWE in 2016, after a successful run in NJPW, where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Title on two separate occasions. As previously reported, the 48-year-old former WWE Champion recently announced that he plans to retire from his own in-ring career “within the next year.”