Story byHiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada - Etsuo Hara/Getty ImagesSam PalmerSun, January 4, 2026 at 5:21 AM UTC·2 min readThe road to New Japan Pro Wrestling's biggest event of the year is nearing its end as NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 is right around the corner, which also means that the career of Hiroshi Tanahashi is just hours away from drawing to a close. The NJPW President will wrestle the final match of his career in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 20 against his greatest rival, current AEW International Champion Kazuchika Okada, who will be looking to bounce back to winning ways after losing his AEW Continental Championship in the final of the Continental Classic tournament to Jon Moxley. There was some debate as to whether Okada and Tanahashi's match should go on last as there were fans who thought the double title match between IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita and IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji should main event Wrestle Kingdom 20. However, in the final press conference before the big event, Okada stated that his match closing the show was the obvious choice. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"A sell out is a great thing.
