Kazuchika Okada believes that Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement match should close Wrestle Kingdom 20.
Okada, speaking primarily in character with NJPW1972.com, discussed the debate over whether Tanahashi’s final match should close Wrestle Kingdom over the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match.
I’ve always thought that the IWGP title should absolutely go on last, but in a situation like this Tanahashi’s last match should absolutely go on last. That’s what people are coming to see. Maybe this is pushing it a bit but it’s kind of like eating your meal, having dessert and then in comes a second entree. People might be stuffed, but even then, maybe because of that I like the main event better.
The January 4 event will be New Japan’s most successful event at the Tokyo Dome of the past two decades and has sold out the previous allotment of tickets (believed to be approximately 40,000 tickets) and expanded the capacity.
Okada will return to New Japan for the first time in nearly two years for Tanahashi’s sendoff and face his famous rival for the last time.
The same show will see Yota Tsuji challenge Konosuke Takeshita for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, and will feature the debut of Olympic gold medalist Aaron Wolf, who faces EVIL for the NEVER Openweight Championship.
Okada shared his view on the success of the event:
It’s great. It isn’t just Tanahashi’s retirement, it’s Aaron Wolf’s debut, and it’s the result of all the other wrestlers and their efforts as well. So I’ll be appreciative of all that, and then take the credit for the next big bump in numbers.
Wrestle Kingdom 20 will stream on New Japan World next month and will be broadcast in Japan.
