Tetsuya Naito Would Have Accepted Hiroshi Tanahashi’s Retirement Match If Offered

Tetsuya Naito says that he would have been Hiroshi Tanahashi’s final opponent if he’d had the opportunity to do so. NJPW announced on Saturday that Tanahashi would face Kazuchika Okada in his retirement match. That match takes place at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4th, 2026 at the Tokyo Dome.

A number of fans speculated that Naito could have been Tanahashi’s last opponent. Naito is currently a free agent and exited NJPW in May. He spoke with Thor for Note.com and spoke about the match. You can see the highlights below:

On Okada Being Tanahashi’s Last Opponent:

“Maybe the real best was another wrestler, but I think Okada was one of the best possible candidates, comparable to that. However, although I wasn’t able to serve as Tanahashi Hiroshi’s opponent in his debut match, there was a possibility that I could have served as his opponent in his retirement match. There hadn’t even been a match billed as his final singles match between Tanahashi Hiroshi and Naito Tetsuya. So I felt happy if I was nominated, as it meant that I had something left undone.”

On His History With NJPW and Tanahashi:

“I was nominated as the opponent in the retirement match of Muto Keiji, the wrestler who got me started watching pro wrestling, and even after Muto left, I continued to watch New Japan Pro-Wrestling and joined New Japan because of Tanahashi Hiroshi. I think it would have been an incredible honor to have served as the opponent in those two’s retirement matches. So, I’m disappointed that I wasn’t chosen, but I’m sure there were many people who thought it would be Nakamura, Okada, or Naito. And one of them was chosen as the opponent, so I think it was good for the fans as well. However, all three of the candidates are no longer with New Japan. The current New Japan wrestlers must be frustrated that none of their wrestlers were there.”

On Having Been Willing To Face Tanahashi:

“If I had been offered, I would have accepted it. I left New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but if I were to return to New Japan it would probably be when I was involved with Hiroshi Tanahashi. A big part of my motivation for returning was wanting to wrestle with Hiroshi Tanahashi. In that sense, not being chosen as my opponent for my retirement match this time meant that my essential reason for returning to New Japan was gone. That, too, is a bit sad.

“I’ll leave aside the question of whether I’ll explore (the possibility of a match) in the two months left until my retirement. But for me, it was the last thing I wanted to do. If that feeling grows, I might take action. But at this point, I have no intention of taking any action myself.”

On His Message To Tanahashi:

“Retirement is a big decision, not just for wrestlers, and I think he’s retiring because he has no doubts about it, so I want him to retire at the Tokyo Dome after giving it his all, without any regrets. But…I just want to say, are there really any things left undone? Do you have any regrets?”