So it's around 4 hours after the main event of Wrestle Kingdom as I'm beginning to write this, Hiroshi Tanahashi has retired and it truly feels like the end of an era. It's weird to think about it really, for myself and many others, professional wrestling has not existed without the ace, there hasn't been a world where Hiroshi Tanahashi is not actively competing as New Japan's Ace. To me personally, Tana's connection to New Japan is second only to Inoki, when I think of New Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi is who I think of and whilst he will still be there as President, he isn't there as a wrestler.
As soon as Tanahashi announced his retirement tour speculation began on who his final opponent would be and really there were only ever three names ever discussed: Katsuyori Shibata, Shinsuke Nakamura and the man who indeed turned out to be Tanahashi's final dance partner, Kazuchika Okada. All three made sense, had perfect reason to be so, in the case of Nakamura and Shibata alongside Tana himself are obviously the third generation of New Japan's "Three Musketeers", both with chapters upon chapters in the book of Tanahashi's career yet even with all those pages, there is not one man who had etched himself into that book more than the Rainmaker. It's easy to say in hindsight, with the match happened but there truly was no better option than Okada. 14 years of huge history, their first matches together dating back further than that, everything from the Rainmaker Shock, the main events of Wrestle Kingdom 9 and 10, what was thought to be their final bout at New Beginning to everything in between; Tanahashi and Okada are intertwined together, their careers without each other are so vastly different that it was only right that the final chapter is written by the both of them.
26 years. That is the length of Hiroshi Tanahashi's career and on the final day he had possibly his biggest achievement, a sold out Tokyo Dome, there exclusively for him. To watch a legend, an icon, a hero for the final time and Tanahashi knew this. Nearly fifty thousand people packed into the Tokyo Dome for one final time for the Ace, for one final Tanahashi/Okada match. Is it as flashy or smooth as their previous bouts? Of course not, both men are over a decade older and Tanahashi has knees that barely function yet that is what makes this so special. It isn't flashy, it isn't a hundred miles an hour, it's an emotional rollercoaster, it's a match that plays on the love and adoration that Tanahashi holds and the desire to not hear that bell ring, to not have it end.
For the opening minutes, Tanahashi wrestles with a smile, a happy acceptance that this is the end, his vision realised as he stands across from arguably his greatest rival. He has fifty thousand people chanting for him, desperate for him to give it his all one final time. Okada though is different, this stage is routine for him, he's been here more times than anyone else, it's just another Wrestle Kingdom main event against Hiroshi Tanahashi. As mentioned, Okada isn't the man he was ten years ago here, he's willing to take the low road, the Rainmaker of old is long gone; showing that after the initial grappling sequence, instead of abiding by the clean break he kicks Tanahashi in the midsection and uses this to take advantage. When you have that many people rallying for you though, momentum is bound to bounce back, with Tana blocking a corner attack before nailing Okada with a crossbody from the second rope before a standing somersault senton for a two. With this much support thought comes the attention to them, Tana is savoring every cheer and every chant he gets, allowing Okada to gain control with a uppercut as Tana poses on the second rope, a pre-cursor to his somersault senton, before Okada nails Tana with a dropkick sending him spilling to the floor, allowing Okada to take extensive control.
These opening five minutes kind of set the tone for the match, Okada, using everything he can to his advantage, determined to beat Tanahashi whereas Tanahashi himself just wants to leave everything out there for everyone who has paid to come and see him one final time. He takes unnecessary risks, nothing shows this better for both men when Tanahshi takes control again after skinning the cat when Okada goes to send him to the outside, he hits a pair of signature Dragon Screws before attempting a Cloverleaf. Okada bends the rules again, not wanting his legs to be even more damaged, he rakes the eyes of Tanahashi before he can be turned over yet faces immediate comeuppance when he's caught with a low dropkick to the knee sending him to the outside. Instead of following him to the outside or getting him back in the ring, Tana takes it to the top, going Ace's High one final time and nailing a High Fly Attack to Okada on the floor, it's risky, it's uncalculated but that is exactly what Hiroshi Tanahashi is tonight, he knows he has nothing to lose so why not go all out? After 26 years of dedication why not leave it all on the line one final time?
All of this though still doesn't phase Okada, even after being caught with a Dragon Screw in the ropes as he re-enters the ring when Tanahashi goes for the Sling Blade, he's caught clean with a flapjack that sends him down to the mat before catching a corner attack from an overzealous Tana and hitting him with Heavy Rain, followed up by his stalling elbow drop from the top. This is really where (in Japan for the first time at least) we see how much Okada has changed, what once was a beautiful diving elbow is now a nonchalant drop, what once was the Rainmaker pose is now a middle finger to the crowd and Okada loves it, the biggest shit-eating grin on his face as he does it too. What it still serves as a precursor to is the Rainmaker itself, Tana knows this, he's been setup for it tens if not hundreds of times, he knows he cannot afford to be hit by it and for now, he isn't, ducking the attempts before hitting a trifecta of Twist & Shouts. Once again though Tanahashi's pursuit of offense is his brick wall, being caught with a Tombstone for a near fall by Okada.
This really is where the tide of the match truly turns, Okada backs into the corner, that smug grin back on his face yet again, as soon as Tanahashi rises back up, a defiant look on his face he's blasted with a missile dropkick from Okada. It's here we see Okada's true goal, it's not just to win, it's to embarrass Tanahashi one more time, to have him go out in the most humiliating way possible. He takes Tana to the outside, dragging him up the ramp before nailing him with another Tombstone there, before calmly walking back to the ring, beckoning Red Shoes in to administer the twenty count. Emotions obviously are already high, yet nothing plays with them just as much as the thought of Hiroshi Tanahashi's final match ending in a count out, Okada's back to the ramp, Tana's slow crawl, the count not slowing and Tana still can't get to his feet and suddenly what seconds ago was a "he'll get back in it's fine" has become a "no... surely not", obviously Tanahashi wasn't losing by count out but for a brief window there was the fear that he was, the relief when he barely, just barely throws himself back in the ring is indescribable and yet it's immediately crushed by a third Tombstone to Tanahashi who is covered and doesn't have anything to kick out but he doesn't need to, Okada already has made his mind up, it isn't just about winning now, it's about embarrassment, about cementing himself as the true forever ace, he lifts Tana up right before the three count, his work not finished yet.
A Rolling Rainmaker follows and a cover does once again, yet still this isn't enough for Okada, Tanahashi is out yet Okada isn't satisfied, he clutches the wrist and goes to deliver a Rainmaker but is met with a defiant slap from Tana, followed by slap after slap after slap yet even with the defiance and fire in his face, the energy isn't there, Okada simply crushes Tanahashi with a lariat, maintaining wrist control, dragging Tanahashi back up for yet another lariat. Again though this isn't enough for Okada, who doesn't even attempt a pinfall this time, instead he just picks Tanahashi up and goes for the Rainmaker yet again, once again though Tanahashi ducks it and ironically enough, uses it to hit the first Rainmaker of the match onto Okada himself, the momentum of causing him to fall against the ropes, unable to capitalise and make a cover. Both men get to their feet at the same time, Tana with a second wind once again looks for a Sling Blade and much like his desperate avoidance of the Rainmaker, Okada is desperate to avoid the Sling Blade and successfully does so and after having it ducked one more time, is finally able to nail Tanahashi with the Rainmaker, finally covering Tanahashi who finds it within to kick out, that brief second wind wasn't just energy, it was fire, it was more heart to keep pushing himself onwards.
The look on Okada's face says it all, it's as if he takes Tanahashi kicking out as an insult, he gave him the opportunity of going out with dignity yet he didn't take it so once again he attempts to embarrass Tanahashi, going back to the biggest basic, a Boston Crab; the move Tanahashi gained his first victory with in New Japan and the move both men submitted to in their first New Japan match as young lions (against Togi Makabe and Tetsuya Naito respectively), a move that every single young lion has used at some point or another, Okada wanting to make not only the Ace, but the President of New Japan tap out to something typically used by those lowest on the totem pole. Tanahashi claws though, he struggles and fights his way to the bottom rope to force a break, sparing himself from the indignity of tapping.
For his troubles though, Okada nails him with one of his classic dropkicks before looking for one more Rainmaker, once again though Tana is able to avoid it, ducking and running the ropes only to be met with a big boot yet as Okada runs the ropes himself, Tanahashi is finally able to connect with the Sling Blade, giving him some much needed time to recoup. As both men begin to get up, Tanahashi locks Okada in a sleeper, a position both men have been in many times by a specific individual, as Okada rises and begins to fade again, he is sat down by Tanahashi who proceeds to hit him with PK. Instead of covering though, Tana simply crosses his wrists and hits an oh so familiar taunt, walking to the corner and posing just like he used to before nailing what is probably the worst Bomaye ever (which was beautifully endearing). Even though they weren't his final opponent, or there physically (in Nakamura's case), both Shibata and Nakamura's presence and impact on Tana were felt and recognised. Tanahashi finishes off the Musketeers finishers with the one that's brought him the most success, High Fly Flow. All of this though isn't enough to beat Okada, he's felt all three before and he's beaten all three, it'll take more than just the Musketeers to beat Okada tonight.
Tanahashi continues to press though, hitting another Sling Blade and Dragon Suplex for a near fall, before ascending to the top once again as Okada lays face down on the canvas, hitting another High Fly Flow to the back of Okada this time, obviously though he isn't going for the pin, we have seen this time and time again when the stakes are at their highest, he goes for broke, flipping Okada over before ascending once more except this time, he crashes and burns down onto Okada's knees. Both men lay down, exhausted, nearly 30 minutes in, bringing themselves to their knees to exchange blows, Okada with stiff uppercuts, Tanahashi with forearms. Okada eventually ducks a slap attempt, looking for a German Suplex which Tana fights out of, nailing Okada with a slap before running the ropes and being hit once again with a picture perfect dropkick.
This brings me to what is my favorite moment of the match, following this Okada once again looks for a Tombstone yet whether due to exhaustion, Tana's avoidance or whether it was a genuine miscalculation, cannot lift up Tanahashi eventually leading to both men in deadlock, fighting and struggling against one another in dualing gutwrenches, clasping as if their life depends on it. That's what this match does best, it isn't the flashy moves, it isn't the wow factor, it's the grit, the struggle, the fear of being hit with the next move with the fear it might be the last, it's every gasp, every kick out, every pained emotional look on Tanahashi's face as he fights through pain and tears to avoid Okada's biggest blows. Eventually Tana manages to barely muscle up Okada, seemingly looking for a Tombstone of his own, yet he just cannot get him into position and whether through a happy accident or absolute perfection (I genuinely cannot tell if this was how it was meant to go) Okada uses his momentum to call upon one his own greatest rivals, Tetsuya Naito, escaping Tanahashi's clutch with a Destino. It isn't smooth, it isn't a flashy counter and nor should it be, nor should wrestling be. It feels titanic, it genuinely feels as if these two are willing to go forever yet they know anything could end this, it's ever so slightly sloppy and it's all the more better for it. It pulls you in that much more, it gives feeling, it gives life.
Okada doesn't relent, recognising how close he is to the finish line, nailing Tanahashi with an Emerald Flowsion and another Rainmaker, soaking in the moment for a second, triumphantly covering Tanahashi but as long as the Ace breathes, the Ace has life, mustering up just enough energy to throw a shoulder up, nothing more. It's at this point Okada has a realisation, he finally realises what needs to be done, he stands over Tanahashi, calling on the crowd to give Tanahashi the strength to get up, even willing Tanahashi up himself before nailing him with a scoop slam in the middle of the ring and ascending to the top. I must admit, I was fully prepared for Okada to nail a High Fly Flow here, I have never been happy to be more wrong, in a way we haven't seen in a long time, Okada soars across the ring with a beautiful elbow drop onto Tanahashi before looking out to the Tokyo Dome crowd and finally, after so, so long hits the Rainmaker pose.
In classic fashion, the camera zooms out, before getting a focus on Okada's face, a tight closing of the eyes, a bright eyed look up to the sky. After nearly two years of the low road, two years of calling people a bitch, after this entire match of trying to embarrass Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada is reminded just who the fuck he is, a sense of actuality is found. He isn't Don Callis' prize possession, he isn't someone who needs to cheat his way to win, he is Kazuchika Okada. A look of relief washes over him, the understanding that this is what got him here, this is how he has always beaten Tanahashi and this is what he needs to do it one last time. As Tana stumbles up, Okada grabs him and nails him with a Rainmaker, an almost soul cleansing scream coming from him as he hits Tanahashi with it before going down into the cover, deeply hooking the leg and finally, finally pinning Tanahashi. Not through embarrassment, not through underhanded means but by having The Rainmaker brought out once more, by having Okada realise who he truly is.
As time goes on and age grows, we often find we can't do what we once used to as well as we once may have, yet with what we lose in terms of physicality and skill, we make up for in passion and love, in emotion and desire for what we truly want, for what we truly enjoy doing. The entirety of Tanahashi's last year shows that, he can barely walk, he can't even run properly, yet it doesn't matter because every time he wrestles, he lets the most important thing show, his heart. In what Tanahashi has lost in terms of his physical peak, he has made up for in his infinite love for his art, art that has feeling and emotion and that is what connects us all. The feeling and emotion behind everything we do, it's what makes us connect with the world in the way we do, it's what makes us love, smile, cry. It's what makes us human. Nobody elicits the emotion quite like Tanahashi, nobody makes you feel like he does and Okada provided the perfect foil to bring that emotion out on it's most emotional stage. Nothing is better feel and in that regard, this was perfection. Something that will stand the test of time for years and years to come.
Through it all though, even in defeat, Hiroshi Tanahash proved that he was truly invincible in fighting and love.
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