{"id":209843,"date":"2026-01-04T21:59:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T03:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=209843"},"modified":"2026-01-04T22:01:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T04:01:13","slug":"njpw-wrestle-kingdom-20-big-match-report-1-4-radicans-report-analysis-on-tanahshi-vs-okada-tanahashi-retirement-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/01\/04\/njpw-wrestle-kingdom-20-big-match-report-1-4-radicans-report-analysis-on-tanahshi-vs-okada-tanahashi-retirement-match\/","title":{"rendered":"NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 20 BIG MATCH REPORT (1\/4): Radican\u2019s report &#038; analysis on Tanahshi vs. Okada Tanahashi Retirement match"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2205171582\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><b>HIROSHI TANAHASHI vs. KAZUCHIKA OKADA (w\/Gedo) &#8211; Tanahashi Retirement match\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tanahashi appeared emotional as he was introduced to a big pop from the crowd. Tanahashi is 2-1 against Okada at The Tokyo Dome. Okada took the fight to the floor and hit a draping DDT using the guardrail on Tanahashi. Tanahashi fired back and hit a senton out of the corner a short time later.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Okada ended up on the floor and Tanahashi wiped him out with Aces High. Okada tried to get back into the ring, but Tanahashi greeted him with a dragon screw. Tanahashi went for a sling blade, but Okada turned it into a face buster. Okada signaled for the Rainmaker and then flipped off the fans to boos.\u00a0 Okada eventually hit a piledriver to cut Tanahashi off.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Okada grinned in the corner and nailed Tanahashi with a running drop kick. Okada dragged Tanahashi up the entrance ramp and hit a tombstone. The fans chanted for Tanahashi, who appeared to be out on the ramp.\u00a0 He eventually stirred and crawled down the ramp to barely beat the 20 count. Okada hit a tombstone and lifted Tanahashi\u2019s head to break the count. He hit a spinning Rainmaker and lifted up Tanahashi\u2019s head to break the count.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tanahashi blocked a Rainmaker and hit several slaps to Okada\u2019s face, but he maintained wrist control and hit a lariat. Okada went for a Rainmaker, but Tanahashi ducked and hit the Ace Maker and both men were down as the fans fired up.\u00a0 They went back and forth and Okada hit a Rainmaker for a great near fall. Okada got a Boston Crab, but Tanahashi managed to get to the ropes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tanahashi hit a sling blade and the fans fired up. The fans chanted Go Ace. He released a choke and hit a PK. He then hit Nakamura\u2019s pose and hit Boma Ye for a huge pop! Tanahashi went up top and hit the High Fly Flow, but Okada kicked out!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Okada went for a Rainmaker, but Tanahashi turned it into a Slingblade. He then hit a dragon suplex for a near fall. He went up top and hit a HFF to Okada\u2019s back. He went up top again for a traditional HFF, but Okada got his knees up. Okada caught Tanahashi with a Destino style takedown and then hit a cobra flosion. He hit a big Rainmaker and Tanahashi barely kicked out!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Okada invited the fans to chant for Tanahashi. The fans fired up huge as he struggled to get up.\u00a0 Okada hit an elbow drop and then the Rainmaker pose and the fans popped big for that. He then hit another huge Rainmaker and it was good for the win.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3231993909\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WINNER: Kazuchika Okada at 33:03. (****1\/2)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Radicans Analysis: It was the emotion and story that carried this match. The fans were behind Tanahashi the entire way. They told a really good story with Okada being unable to put Tanahashi away while acting like a heel. I<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">t was great to see Tanahashi pull out the old Okada, as he arrived by hitting his signature Rainmaker pose late in the match before putting Tanahashi away with a Rainmaker. Tanahashi <\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">did as well as could be expected given his limitations. I wasn\u2019t happy with Tanahashi losing, but it didn\u2019t seem to deflate the crowd, which was a good sign the story they told was very effective.)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Okada got on the mic after the match and the fans cheered. He said to Tanahashi \u201cyou must be tired.\u201d He said he wanted to say one thing. He said thank you to Tanahashi and bowed. Okada left the ringside area and Tanahashi appeared to be emotional as he recovered on the mat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tanahashi had tears in his eyes as the fans chanted his name. He eventually got to his feet and the fans cheered. Tanahashi was presented flowers by NJPW officials and sponsors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jay White\u2019s music hit and he came down to the ring. Several wrestlers surrounded the ring and White gave Tanahashi flowers and hugged him. Will Ospreay came out next. He gave Tanahashi flowers and hugged him. Kenny Omega came out with Kota Ibushi. They both gave Tanahashi flowers. Ibushi walked down to the ring with a broken femur and appeared to be having a lot of difficulty walking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Katsuyori Shibata came out next and Tanahashi cried in the ring. Shibata tore his shirt off and traded chips with Tanahashi. They then shared a big hug. WOW! Keiji Muto came down to the ring next. He gave Tanahashi flowers and they hugged. Fujinami came down to the ring next to give Tanahashi flowers. Everyone that had come down to the ring then posed with Tanahashi.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everyone left the ring and Tetsuya Naito\u2019s music played to a big pop. A fake Naito came out first with a mask before the real one came out. Naito took forever to get to the ring. The man under the mask turned out to be Bushi.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Naito got on the mic and said Muto inspired him to be a wrestler. He said it was Tanahashi who became an example to him when he came to NJPW. He said he left NJPW, but Tanahashi gave him the chance to walk down the Tokyo Dome ramp one more time. He said he doesn\u2019t think he\u2019ll wrestle in a NJPW ring again, but he said he is looking forward to meeting Tanahashi in NJPW again one day. He said until then Adios. He offered a fist bump to Naito. Tanahashi then bumped fists with him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1370326783\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Naito did not deliver a cheap shot, but he did spit his gum at Tanahashi before leaving.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tanahashi got on the mic and the fans fired up. He thanked the fans for coming. He said he finally was able to see what a sold out Tokyo Dome looked like from a NJPW ring. He said from now on the wrestlers from NJPW will fight with all of their hearts. He said he wanted the fans to keep supporting them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He went to leave the ring, but then he got back in. A big air guitar was tossed to Tanahashi from the outside. He yelled out for the Tokyo Dome before beginning his guitar solo. He then asked for the wave to start in The Tokyo Dome. The 46,913 fans then did the same wave.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 10 bell salute for Tanahashi\u2019s retirement took place. Tanahashi cried as the bell rang. He was announced one more time and his music played. Tanahashi posed on the turnbuckles and waved to the fans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tanahashi got on a giant cart at the top of the entrance ramp. He then rode all the way around the arena on the cart that was pushed along. Boltin Oleg and Aaron Wolf were pushing the cart from behind. Tanahashi cried as he waved to the fans. He paraded all around the arena before ending back on the entrance ramp.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He got on the mic and said there\u2019s one thing he\u2019s resolved to do in his heart. He said he\u2019s so happy he fell in love with professional wrestling. He said every single fan and their support had brought him an incredible life in wrestling. He said he\u2019s done everything and gave it his fullest. Tanahashi then disappeared into the fog on the entrance ramp to end the show.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Radican&#8217;s Analysis: This was an amazing retirement ceremony featuring Tanahashi&#8217;s greatest rivals and colleagues in the business. The segment where an emotional Shibata took his shirt off and traded chops with Tanahashi before they engaged in a big hug was tremendous. It was sad seeing all of the big stars in NJPW that have moved to AEW with the company in such a bad spot in terms of star power on the roster.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jay White was a great surprise, as was Tetsuya Naito and Bushi. As I said earlier, I didn&#8217;t like Naito losing, but the match result didn&#8217;t even seem to matter, as the post-match retirement ceremony just filled The Tokyo Dome with positive energy. The ceremony as a whole was wonderful from the air guitar performance to Tanahashi leading the fans in the wave to his parade around the arena waving to the fans, it was all perfect.)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on X: @SR_Torch and Bluesky @SeanRadican.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3672839735\"><div id=\"pwtor-1159879704\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>HIROSHI TANAHASHI vs. KAZUCHIKA OKADA (w\/Gedo) &#8211; Tanahashi Retirement match\u00a0 Tanahashi appeared emotional as he was introduced to a big pop from the crowd. Tanahashi is 2-1 against Okada at The Tokyo Dome. Okada took <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/01\/04\/njpw-wrestle-kingdom-20-big-match-report-1-4-radicans-report-analysis-on-tanahshi-vs-okada-tanahashi-retirement-match\/\" title=\"NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 20 BIG MATCH REPORT (1\/4): Radican\u2019s report &#038; analysis on Tanahshi vs. Okada Tanahashi Retirement match\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":209800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,6945,542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tvshowsandevents","category-japantvreports","category-new-japan-ppvs"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2026\/01\/final.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209843"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":209846,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209843\/revisions\/209846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}