Tag: Shinsuke Nakamura

Hiroshi Tanahashi’s Final Match: Could Shinsuke Nakamura Be “The Ace’s” Last Opponent?

As NJPW legend Hiroshi Tanahashi prepares for his final match at Wrestle Kingdom 20 in January 2026, rumors are swirling about who will face him in his retirement bout. Recent reports suggest WWE’s Shinsuke Nakamura — one of Tanahashi’s most iconic rivals — could be in line for the honor. However, interpromotional politics between WWE, AEW, and NJPW could complicate the dream matchup.

The Ace’s Last Dance

As 2025 winds down, New Japan Pro Wrestling is preparing to say goodbye to one of its greatest icons. Hiroshi Tanahashi, the man affectionately known as “The Ace,” is nearing the end of his legendary in-ring career. After more than a year on his emotional farewell tour, Tanahashi will wrestle for the final time on January 4, 2026, at Wrestle Kingdom 20 inside the historic Tokyo Dome.

Tanahashi’s retirement tour has been a celebration of two decades of excellence — a journey that saw him face top stars across generations, from Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito to Will Ospreay and Zack Sabre Jr. But as the Tokyo Dome finale approaches, fans are buzzing about who will stand across the ring from him in his final match.

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, one potential — and emotional — choice could be Shinsuke Nakamura, the current WWE Superstar and Tanahashi’s most famous rival.

Nakamura Teases the Possibility

Speculation started growing during WWE’s recent tour of Japan. Nakamura paid homage to Tanahashi by mimicking his signature mannerisms during matches and later referencing him in a post-show promo — a nod that didn’t go unnoticed by fans or by Meltzer.

Interestingly, Nakamura’s WWE contract reportedly includes a clause that allows him to work select dates in Japan. On paper, that would make a Tanahashi vs. Nakamura farewell match possible. However, Meltzer pointed out that it’s far from a done deal, and there are major hurdles to overcome.

NJPW, AEW, and WWE Politics Complicate Things

The biggest obstacle isn’t Nakamura’s willingness — it’s the current state of interpromotional politics. NJPW maintains a close working relationship with AEW, and with AEW’s Konosuke Takeshita currently holding the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, it’s expected that AEW talent will feature prominently at Wrestle Kingdom 20.

Having a WWE talent like Nakamura appear on the same card could create political friction between the promotions. Meltzer speculated that NJPW may hesitate to invite a WWE wrestler to such a high-profile show while the AEW partnership is active.

That said, Tanahashi’s retirement isn’t just another event — it’s a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. Meltzer added that if there’s any scenario that could make WWE, AEW, and NJPW look past competitive barriers, this could be it. Tanahashi’s influence and legacy are that significant.

A Rivalry That Defined an Era

If Nakamura were to be chosen, it would bring things full circle. Tanahashi and Nakamura’s careers have been intertwined since the early 2000s, leading New Japan through one of its most transformative periods.

Their clashes — including classic bouts over the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and main events at Wrestle Kingdom 8 — helped define NJPW’s modern in-ring style and reestablished the promotion as a global wrestling powerhouse. The chemistry between Tanahashi’s fiery heroism and Nakamura’s flamboyant charisma became a cornerstone of New Japan’s resurgence.

A final encounter between the two, more than a decade after their last major showdown, would be the perfect symbolic closing chapter for both men’s shared legacy.

When Will the Opponent Be Revealed?

Fans likely won’t have to wait long for answers. Meltzer noted that the identity of Tanahashi’s final opponent could be revealed as soon as November 2, during Tanahashi’s “Final Homecoming” event in his hometown of Gifu, or in the days following.

Regardless of who steps up — whether it’s Nakamura, an AEW name, or a rising NJPW star — one thing is certain: Hiroshi Tanahashi’s last match at Wrestle Kingdom 20 will be more than a wrestling match. It’ll be a celebration of a legacy that helped rebuild New Japan Pro Wrestling and inspire an entire generation of wrestlers and fans alike.

Shinsuke Nakamura Returns With A New Look, Attacked LA Knight After US Title Defense On WWE SmackDown

Shinsuke Nakamura has reemerged on WWE SmackDown, and he’s bringing a darker edge to his character. Months after a house show loss in Cardiff, Wales, Nakamura made a surprise return to confront United States Champion LA Knight.

Knight, fresh off a victory over Legado del Fantasma’s Berto, found himself blindsided by Nakamura. This wasn’t the flashy “King of Strong Style” fans remembered, however. Gone was the red gear synonymous with his WWE run. Instead, Nakamura sported a long, brown duster over a black leather shirt and pants. His crimson face paint, shaped into striking diamond patterns, added an air of menace as he silently admired the damage he inflicted before leaving the ring.

A Long-Awaited Return to Action

Fans have been waiting months for Nakamura to step back into the spotlight. His last televised WWE match was a loss to Sheamus on the April 22 episode of Raw. Despite his absence from WWE programming, Nakamura has kept fans intrigued, especially with Pro Wrestling NOAH announcing his return for their New Year’s Day show in 2024.

This marks a special homecoming for Nakamura, who previously appeared at NOAH’s New Year’s Day event in 2023, where he defeated The Great Muta during the Japanese legend’s retirement tour.

What’s Next for Nakamura?

Nakamura’s sudden targeting of LA Knight raises plenty of questions. Was this a one-off attack, or the beginning of a feud? Either way, Nakamura’s shift in presentation suggests that the WWE veteran is ready to reinvent himself yet again, a hallmark of his career in both WWE and Japan.

As he balances his WWE commitments with his anticipated Pro Wrestling NOAH appearance, one thing is certain: Shinsuke Nakamura is back, and he’s making waves in more ways than one.

The Latest Update On Shinsuke Nakamura’s WWE Status

Fightful Select has shared an update on WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura.

According to the report, Nakamura is currently in a situation similar to AJ Styles’. The Japanese wrestler is reportedly in good health but is currently not showcased on WWE programming.

Nakamura recently participated in some of WWE’s international tour dates in Europe and Japan. He was involved in various matches, facing off against opponents such as Cody Rhodes, AJ Styles, LA Knight, Ludwig Kaiser, Sheamus, and Ilja Dragunov.

At one of the Japan shows, Nakamura joined forces with Kevin Owens to take on The Bloodline.

However, since Nakamura is not being featured on WWE TV for undisclosed reasons, the creative team seems to have no plans for him currently.

Source: eWn

Shinsuke Nakamura On Great Muta Match: “It’s A Real Forbidden Door”

Pro Wrestling NOAH announce this past weekend that WWE’s Shinsuke Nakamura was crossing over to the company as part of Keiji Mutoh’s retirement tour, with the former Intercontinental Champion announced as Mutoh’s opponent for its 1 January show, The New Year 2023. It’ll be one of the last times the 59-year-old works as The Great Muta before he draws the curtain on his wrestling career later that month – and something those involved had to work hard to make happen.

Tokyo Sports reports (via translation) that NOAH had earmarked Nakamura as somebody it wanted to book for Mutoh’s retirement run as soon as the legend made the decision to retire. Initially, they were met with disagreement from WWE, though “tenacious” negotiations continued once Vince McMahon stepped down as Chairman and CEO in July.

The two sides then reached an agreement on 26 October. Now, the bout is official.

Nakamura revealed he was spurred on by people within WWE, calling the situation “a real ‘Forbidden Door'”, nodding to AEW’s working relationship with NJPW:-

“There were people in WWE who pushed me forward. I opened a door that no one could break in. Hahaha…it’s a real ‘Forbidden Door’.”

Continuing, Nakamura called the bout a meeting of “fate”, adding that he worked hard to make it happen:-

“I think it’s really fate, and I worked hard to make it happen. I’ve fought Keiji Muto twice in the past, but this was my first encounter with Great Muta, the first and last. I definitely think that I am in the midst of the miracle of the times.”

Nakamura has not wrestled in Japan on a show promoted by a native company since January 2016, when he left NJPW for WWE. His last tie with Mutoh came in October 2008.

Source: WhatCulture

Several Top WWE Superstar Contracts Coming Up Soon

Image result for AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, Karl anderson , Shinsuke Nakamura, Daniel Bryan

WWE Champion AJ Styles, U.S. Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are all set to have their contracts expire in early 2019, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer noted that they all had signed three-year deals with WWE in 2016, and Styles and Nakamura’s deals expire in January.

Meltzer noted that New Japan Pro Wrestling has “absolute interest” in bringing Nakamura back to the company. With NJPW’s expansion, Nakamura’s name value has increased dramatically since his WWE debut.

The Orlando crowd erupted into cheers at the 2016 Royal Rumble pay-per-view event when Styles made his WWE debut. Styles held the WWE Championship for 140 days before the year was over, giving him a great start to his WWE career. He is still WWE Champion in his second run with the title, and addressed the idea of re-signing with WWE during a March 2018 interview with Raute Musik.

“I don’t see why not if I can do what I do,” Styles said. “Like, if I can still be AJ Styles, then I would like to keep working in the WWE in a talent form. So as long as I can keep going, then I would like to keep working there.”

Daniel Bryan’s WWE contract expires on September 1st.

Source: WrestlingINC

Shinsuke Nakamura Says Dog Bite Will Keep Him Out Of Action For Two More Weeks

Shinsuke Nakamura will likely be out of action for a few more weeks due to the bite he suffered from a police dog last week.

In an interview with Nikkan Sports, the two-time NXT champion said he’ll continue to be evaluated but likely sidelined through the middle of July.

As we previously reported, the dog that bit Shinsuke is part of the Bakersfield Police Department Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Team.  The group was sweeping the arena ahead of a live event when the dog bit Nakamura in the lower left leg.

According to police, Nakamura was treated at a nearby hospital.

Over the weekend, Shinsuke cut a promo in Tokyo at a live event before mixing it up with Samoa Joe — the images of which can see SEEN HERE.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Police Issue Statement On Shinsuke Nakamura Dog Bite Accident At WWE Event, Nakamura Status Update

As noted, Shinsuke Nakamura was pulled from the ring on Monday and Tuesday after being bitten by a police dog during a routine pre-show security check at Monday’s WWE live event in Bakersfield, California.

There is no timetable for Nakamura’s return and his status for the weekend shows in Japan is still up in the air, according to F4Wonline.com.

Bakersfield police issued the following statement on the incident:

“On Monday, June 25, 2018, officers of the Bakersfield Police Department Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Team were conducting a protective sweep of the Rabobank Arena in preparation for the WWE Live Summerslam Heatwave Tour. During the sweep, the EOD Team, which consisted of an explosive detection trained canine team and bomb technicians entered an area of the arena where an employee of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was present. The canine entered the room to sweep for the presence of any explosive material. As the sweep took place the WWE employee was accidentally bit by the canine. The employee sustained an injury to his lower left leg. Medical aid was immediately summoned to the scene and the employee was transported to a local area hospital for medical treatment.”

Source: WrestlingINC

Shinsuke Nakamura Out Of Action Due To Bite From Police Dog

As noted, WWE announced today that Shinsuke Nakamura is currently injured and not cleared to compete. They noted that he was injured on Monday night. Nakamura worked Sunday’s WWE live event in Fresno, California but did not wrestle at Monday’s show in Bakersfield.

Nakamura was pulled from the ring after being bitten by a police dog before Monday’s live event, according to PWInsider. The police dog was reportedly brought around the backstage area as part of a pre-show security check when the dog sniffed Nakamura and bit him on the leg, without being provoked.

WWE decided to pull Nakamura from the ring as a medical precaution. Nakamura was backstage for last night’s SmackDown but was not cleared to compete and is said to be suffering from a very sore leg. No word yet on when he will be cleared.

Source: WrestlingINC

Vince McMahon Reportedly Furious With Shinsuke Nakamura For Dropping John Cena On His Head

Image result for Shinsuke Nakamura Drops John Cena On His Head

Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard reports today that Vince McMahon was furious with Shinsuke Nakamura for dropping John Cena on his head and neck when he hit him with the Reverse Exploder near the end of their main event match on SmackDown LIVE last week.

Luckily for Cena, he did not suffer a serious injury. SmackDown LIVE General Manager Daniel Bryan announced on last night’s show that Cena will face Baron Corbin at SummerSlam on August 20.

According to Barrasso, McMahon’s anger was more in defense of Cena than an indictment of Nakamura since the WWE Chairman & CEO has not lost faith in him. However, if Nakamura makes another mistake like that again, McMahon will have an entirely different opinion of him.

McMahon might be the only one upset with Nakamura for the botched spot. Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com reported last week that people backstage saw the error as a fluke. Cena himself did not seem upset about it either. Nakamura immediately apologized to Cena after the match, to which Cena replied, “Don’t be sorry.”

Source: WrestlingINC

Steve Austin Frustrated With How WWE Is Booking Shinsuke Nakamura, Has Advice For Braun Strowman

Recently on The Steve Austin Show, pro wrestling great Steve Austin chatted with his long time friend and colleague, Jim Ross. Among other things, the pair discussed potential WrestleMania matches and SmackDown Live’s Shinsuke Nakamura’s ongoing slump.

During the podcast, Austin and Ross shared their thoughts on RAW’s Samoa Joe. Austin called Joe “one of the best workers in the world” and Ross suggested that he would have saved a match between current WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe for WrestleMania.

“If I was booking WWE or if I had influence on the booking of WWE, or whatever, my WrestleMania main event would be Joe and Brock and I would build it and by the time we got there, people would be going crazy to see it.”

Ross continued, “for a guy like me at my stage of life, that’s the fountain of youth because that’s back to old school, two tough, legit tough son-of-a-b—–s that aren’t out there playing a role of a pro wrestler, locking up like two invalids. Locking up like two men, like two athletes of any gender.”

Additionally, Ross claimed he most interested in seeing RAW’s Braun Strowman face off against Lesnar.

“I know that somewhere down the road it’s Strowman and Lesnar. That’s foolproof, right? And I’d probably save that till WrestleMania. I know at one point, they talked about doing it at SummerSlam.” Ross reflected, “I’m curious as tow what they would get out of that match, and how athletic the big boy would be, and how Brock would be. There’s a two-way street here.”

While Austin also spoke favorably of Strowman, saying ‘The Monster Among Men’ has a lot of potential, but cautioned him not to be too athletic in the ring.

“I don’t want Braun to be too athletic and start doing stuff that is out of his wheelhouse. No, no, no, I mean stick with the ground game! Don’t need to jump off s–t!”

Aside from fantasy booking Joe versus Lesnar for WrestleMania, Ross indicated that he would like to see a blue brand battle between Nakamura and AJ Styles at WrestleMania.

“I think Shinsuke Nakamura, we haven’t seen his best yet and I think AJ Styles may be as good of a worker as I’ve seen in years. He may be the best worker in the world right now.” Ross recalled, “you felt something in the crowd at [WWE Money In The Bank] with Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ. The fans that’ve followed their career know they’ve got a great history. And they’ve, I’ve seen it, had one of the best matches I’ve ever seen with Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ. We haven’t seen that yet in Shinsuke, but that WrestleMania match would be a great wrestling match.”

Austin agreed, stating that Styles may be the best worker in the world and could bring out the best of Nakamura.

“I know that Styles is going to bring the best out of Shinsuke because I don’t think, from what I’ve seen, we’ve seen Shinsuke’s best in [WWE].” Austin added, “I’m sure he will get the best of of that guy. I’m sure they’re great friends from way back or whatever the deal is. But from what I know of AJ, if Shinsuke’s going to really work his ass off, it’s going to be with Styles.”

Austin expressed his disappointment about WWE not getting the most out of Nakamura, saying Nakamura’s work in Japan is better than his WWE work. Austin went on to say that WWE is booking Nakamura like “another Joe Blow”.

“You bring him over and he’s going 30-minute broadways with half the damn roster. Debuted down there in WrestleMania 32, NXT, with Sami Zayn, hell of a match. Hell of a match! A lot of credit to Sami Zayn and Shinsuke, but here’s ‘The King Of Strong Style’ and all-of-a-sudden, he comes in and he’s working Dolph [Ziggler] and it took him a long time to finish off Dolph for ‘The King Of Strong Style’. Do you understand where I’m going with this gimmick? That’s booking though. What is the plan? You’ve got this guy who’s one of those talents that just don’t come around every single day. He’s special. He comes in and you treat him like he’s another Joe Blow.”

Ross reminded Austin that ‘The Ringmaster’ became ‘Stone Cold’, but conceded that Nakamura, the natural heel, is in “a little bit more than “‘Ringmaster mode’, but not quite there yet” as a finished product and more aggression is needed from the former NXT Champion.

“I’ll tell [Austin] this: there was a guy called ‘The Ringmaster’ who came in that nobody thought was going to be special. Even though [Austin] had [Ted] DiBiase and all that stuff, Teddy was uncomfortable in that role and it wasn’t a natural fit, and he’ll tell you, and [Austin] sure as hell wasn’t a ringmaster, but the thing about it was [Austin] broke loose and created a different image and ‘The Ringmaster’ went away.” Ross added, “and it seems like [Nakamura]’s just a smidge under, for me, the desired aggression than I’ve seen him execute before.”

Ross purported that behind-the-scenes factors could be making Nakamura’s transition to WWE difficult. ‘Good Ol’ J.R.’ also floated the idea that ‘The Rockstar’ might be holding back in the WWE ring.

“Getting acclimated. There [are] a lot of issues there that we take for granted, that we don’t even want to take into consideration. Moving, living in Orlando [Florida] as opposed to living in for his entire life in Japan, his promotion – he was a fixture. He’d be like [Austin] leaving WWE and going to work for them, New Japan back when you were hot.” Ross said, “I wonder if he doesn’t think that him kicking as aggressively in WWE would be tolerated based on how hard he kicked in, I saw him kick in New Japan. Different feel, different style, different expectation, I don’t know. I’m not saying the talents are tougher, nothing [like that], but maybe there [are] different expectation level, but there’s something missing, something a little bit missing, in what he does, but I am encouraged to know there is greatness there. The right person, the right situation, the right angle.”

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Source: The Steve Austin Show via WrestlingINC