Kazuchika Okada Comments On Hiroshi Tanahashi’s Upcoming Retirement & Their Match At Wrestle Kingdom 20

AEW star Kazuchika Okada recently opened up about facing his longtime rival Hiroshi Tanahashi in the latter’s retirement match.

The Rainmaker returned to New Japan Pro-Wrestling last month to reveal himself as Tanahashi’s final opponent. The match will take place at Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4, 2026.

In an exclusive interview with NJPW1972.com, Kazuchika Okada reflected on The Ace’s impending retirement.

“Hmm, I’m not really sure I have an answer to that. It doesn’t quite feel like he’s retiring. I think I won’t know for sure until the day itself. If I was in NJPW all this time, perhaps I might get a sense that retirement was looming, but I’ve been over in America; I never really gave it thought. I think it’ll be at the end of the year, when I’m finished with the AEW schedule, and next is the Tokyo Dome; that’s when I’ll be able to give it more thought. But everything about The Rainmaker started with Tanahashi, so it makes sense to end Tanahashi’s career… Talking about it that way sounds a little self-centered (laughs), but in the end, I feel this is a repayment in a way.”

When asked how he would approach Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement match, Okada said:

“Yes, it’s a retirement match, but—and I don’t mean this in a weird way—in the end, it is a normal match. It’s the same as it would be a tag match on a local house show. Any match only exists in itself and never to be repeated, so I don’t think that retirement matches in themselves should be different in that sense. I’m just thinking, ‘How best can I really hit him where it hurts?'”