So what’s the deal with Tanahashi?

[Fake Jesus]

Judge Tanahasi like you would modern day Nakamura and then consider that Tana debuted five years earlier and Nakamura has been saving his body since 2015 while Tana was doing G1s and having a handful of his all-time best matches in that time period. Even a year or two ago Tanahashi was still capable of MOTN with the right dance partner

[Deleted]

I can't think of a single style of wrestling more taxing on the body than Japanese main-event "30 minutes or nothing" wrestling.

Tanahashi's done that for 20 years.

[Jindrak Mark]

As recently as a couple years ago he was still great. His absolute peak had passed and wear and tear was clearly starting to catch up but he was still capable of producing a classic when it was time for the big match. That might be beyond him now. The fan in me still wants him to get one final IWGP reign though but I'm not sure it'll happen.

[eJm]

Whilst we’re talking about him, and I’m not one for hot takes and hate the idea of differing opinions having to be controversial (unless they’re some of the illogical, weirdo takes that float around every so often);

Tanahashi is one of the top 10 best and most important wrestlers of all time. You can put his match quality and drawing power with anyone and I’d argue if he wasn’t there when New Japan needed him, we’d be talking about Japanese wrestling in a different light, especially with how it eventually influenced American wrestling with what happened with Bullet Club. I can’t take you seriously if you don’t at least consider the argument.

[daaave]

There has been a sizeable drop off from him, just compare last night to Mox match last year. I kinda knew what to expect though after seeing the Garcia match earlier this year. I thought he and MJF worked it well enough to make an entertaining 15 min opener though. Tana clearly needs a break.

[HIM]

Give him his flowers. Yeah right now he's "washed up" but there was a time where he was putting the company on his back. There's was a time where when you saw his name on a card you knew what it was. Like, he was so great they were comparing him to Prime Cena but the difference is Tana was giving you the ringwork.

I feel you though. I mean I thought the same until I saw his stuff. He's just old now.

[Fake Jesus]

Jun 26, 2023 10:38:02 GMT -5 @thelongandtheshort said:

I can't think of a single style of wrestling more taxing on the body than Japanese main-event "30 minutes or nothing" wrestling.

Tanahashi's done that for 20 years.

I mean there are different kinds of Japanese wrestling. Strong style's bad, but it's not 90s AJPW bad

[thirteen3]

Jun 26, 2023 11:11:06 GMT -5 Fake Jesus said:

Jun 26, 2023 10:38:02 GMT -5 @thelongandtheshort said:

I can't think of a single style of wrestling more taxing on the body than Japanese main-event "30 minutes or nothing" wrestling.

Tanahashi's done that for 20 years.

I mean there are different kinds of Japanese wrestling. Strong style's bad, but it's not 90s AJPW bad

Tanahashi's style IS 90's AJPW with less head drops.

[Fake Jesus]

Jun 26, 2023 11:30:14 GMT -5 thirteen3 said:

Jun 26, 2023 11:11:06 GMT -5 Fake Jesus said:

I mean there are different kinds of Japanese wrestling. Strong style's bad, but it's not 90s AJPW bad

Tanahashi's style IS 90's AJPW with less head drops.

the head drops are very integral

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

It's essentially viewing a legend at the ender stage of his career where you know he's basically near the end of intense in ring competition

I recommend his matches with the likes of Nakamura, among others, he's just an awesome man who deserves his flowers, it's a shame AEW didn't start existing in the Mid-2010's cause I feel like Tana would have been more in the position Okada is now with these crossover events.

[Some Guy]

Jun 26, 2023 10:38:02 GMT -5 @thelongandtheshort said:

I can't think of a single style of wrestling more taxing on the body than Japanese main-event "30 minutes or nothing" wrestling.

Tanahashi's done that for 20 years.

He can still evolve though and I don't think he's been able to entirely get past that. Suzuki and Ishii are both older and can still put forward great matches because they have mastered a slower style reliant on strikes/simple movements.

He does need like a year long break, though. Him doing the G1 in the shape he's in right now is absurd.

[Cyno]

He's definitely in the twilight of his career now, but in his prime he was one of the best and most important wrestlers in modern history. Without Tanahashi, New Japan might have never gotten out of the hole that Inoki's obsession with MMA dug them into. There might not even be a New Japan without Tanahashi becoming the Ace.

[asuka007]

Tanahashi basically carried NJPW on his back during their dark years. He kept them afloat. But that also meant that he felt like he couldn’t take time off. And he works a style that is physically taxing.

Basically his age and wear and tear have caught up with him finally. This Tanahashi is an odd broken down shadow of what he used to be.

And yet his natural charisma still shines through regardless

[Deleted]

I do not think he is washed up in the traditional sense but more that his work ethic has finally caught up to him.

There is something to be said for both being a workhorse but also over extending yourself and Tanahashi feels like a guy who would probably feel like he is wasting his life if he took a year off doing what he loves even though his body is always telling him to.

[HMARK Center]

Hell, if you want a more recent great Tana match just watch the last time he won the G1 and then went on to challenge Omega at Wrestle Kingdom, in what at the time was Omega's farewell to NJPW. That's a few years ago now, granted, so he wasn't worn down to the same level, but man did he have the crowd absolutely in the palm of his hand in each case.

Since then his singles matches have been a loss less frequent; right now he's a 6 man tag champ with Okada and Ishii, and a good portion of that is to help protect Tana. People still badly want to see him, he's absolutely beloved, but there's no way he can do the kind of schedule he ran during his 20s and 30s.

[markymark]

Even the japanese fans looked saddened at Tanas performance.

[asuka007]

Tanahashi is also in the freaking G1 this year.

That seems, unwise.

[UN PLOMBIER NIGHTMARE #blm]

Even the best of all time isn't going over Father Time. 

I am genuinely so jealous of you never having watched his matches before. Stop what you're doing and watch some, you are in for a treat.

[Denny Zen is Cooking™]

Jun 26, 2023 15:14:21 GMT -5 asuka007 said:

Tanahashi is also in the freaking G1 this year.

That seems, unwise.

Yeah, he's really kind of at that stage of a Japanese wrestler's career where it makes the most sense for him to mostly piddle around in 6-man tags while wearing a t-shirt and going half speed.

But also, he's Tanahashi. Even at 46 years old he's one of the biggest stars the company has, and it would feel weird to see him become a battle dad. I hope he is able to take some time off to get healthy and have one last legitimately great run. I keep making the comparison to Rey Mysterio because of the similar knee problems, but have others have pointed out that's exactly what Rey is doing right now. 

[SneakMan]

Just saw the MJF match. Tanahashi is obviously washed as a top level singles guy but I still thought he and MJF did decent enough. It’s not like he was Undertaker and Goldberg stumbling their way through a Crown Jewel match.