Results
- Katsuya Murashima & Masatora Yasuda def. Shoma Kato & Tatsuya Matsumoto (6:19) (Pre-show)
- El Phantasmo def. Chris Brookes (NJPW World Television Championship) (11:49) (Pre-show)
- Zack Sabre Jr., Hartley Jackson & Ryohei Oiwa def. Master Wato, Toru Yano & YOH, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & Togi Makabe, Kaisei Takechi, Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Boltin Oleg, Satoshi Kojima, Taichi & Tomohiro Ishii, Ren Narita, SANADA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Clark Connors, OSKAR & Yuto-Ice (NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championships) (Rambo Match) (20:46)
- Syuri def. Saya Kamitani (IWGP Women’s Championship & NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship) (12:08) (Recommended)
- Jake Lee, Andrade El Idolo, Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan & HENARE def. David Finlay, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi (14:24)
- El Desperado def. Taiji Ishimori, SHO & Kosei Fujita (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Match) (7:38)
- Aaron Wolf def. EVIL (NEVER Openweight Championship) (12:53) (Recommended)
- Yota Tsuji def. Konosuke Takeshita (IWGP World Heavyweight Championship & IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship) (29:19) (Recommended)
- Kazuchika Okada def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (33:04) (Recommended)
NJPW’s Ace said farewell on Sunday night.
Hiroshi Tanahashi’s quarter-century as a professional wrestler came to an end on Sunday night, losing to rival Kazuchika Okada in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 20 in the Tokyo Dome.
Tanahashi went an impressive 33 minutes in his last-ever match, enduring all of the best moves from Okada’s playbook before finally losing via pinfall.
Tanahashi first found himself in significant trouble near the 15-minute mark, when Okada delivered a piledriver on the venue’s ramp. He narrowly escaped a count-out following the move, getting into the ring just after the 19-count.
A cocky Okada delivered another piledriver but then lifted Tanahashi’s head off the canvas to cancel his follow-up pin attempt. Tanahashi started to battle back at this moment, countering a Rainmaker from Okada into a Rainmaker of his own.
After a series of reversals, Okada connected with his Rainmaker finisher, but wasn’t able to get the job done with it. He whipped out a Boston Crab submission, trying to get Tanahashi to tap to the Young Lion starter move.
Tanahashi started to mount some momentum a few minutes later, connecting with a Slingblade. Then, in a tribute to past NJPW star Shinsuke Nakamura, Tanahashi hit the now-WWE talent’s finisher. Tanahashi landed his top-rope High Fly Flow, but Okada remained in the fight.
Tanahashi secured another Slingblade and a High Fly Flow to Okada’s back. When he came off the top for a third High Fly Flow, Okada put up his knees to block the move. Back to the feet, Tanahashi tried for a piledriver, but Okada instead landed a Destino.
A tough Tanahashi survived a Cobra Flowsion and Rainmaker, but was finally put away after taking an elbow drop off the top then yet another Rainmaker.
While Okada played up his heel role during the match, he paid respects to Tanahashi afterward, getting on the microphone to thank him. The post-match ceremony also saw past NJPW greats come to the ring and present Tanahashi with flowers: Jay White, Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Katsuyori Shibata, Keiji Muto, Tatsumi Fujinami and, shockingly, Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI, all greeted Tanahashi in the ring after his performance.
By the numbers, Tanahashi is leaving behind a career of what feels like endless accomplishments, a testament to his long-term involvement in high-profile NJPW storylines. With over 2,800 appearances for the promotion, Tanahashi racked up eight reigns with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (more than any other wrestler), three G1 Climax tournament trophies, and over 30 appearances in the legendary Tokyo Dome.
While Okada is no longer an active NJPW wrestler, instead working as part of AEW, his shared history with Tanahashi explained why he was chosen to be his final opponent. The two previously shared the ring for one-on-one contests on 17 occasions, including in a trio of past Wrestle Kingdom title matches.
Tanahashi will not leave the public eye following this weekend, as he will continue to serve as the President of NJPW going forward. However, after today, his time as a professional wrestler is officially over.
