The former United States Champion will be wrestling Talla Tonga next Friday in Lexington, Kentucky. This follows an angle backstage on this week’s show where Solo Sikoa told Tonga to take care of Damian Priest. As he and Talla walked away, Nakamura entered and tried to talk to Tama Tonga but was immediately jumped by Talla, who chokeslammed Nakamura onto a cargo crate.
Tama Tonga and Solo Sikoa are teasing a split
Over the last several months Tama Tonga has grown increasingly weary of Sikoa, telling him that he was focusing way too much on Bray Wyatt’s lantern that he had stolen from the Wyatt Sicks. Nakamura has been seen several times backstage trying to convince Tama Tonga that he didn’t need the MFTs. But recent weeks have seen Talla interjecting himself into their conversations, tired of Nakamura’s meddling.
Tama Tonga went on to lose his match to Priest, but it was the MFT’s who got the last laugh. Both Talla and Sikoa jumped Priest after the bell, with Talla connecting with a kick and Sikoa laying out Priest with the Samoan spike.
However, Sikoa wasn’t so lucky in the main event. After trying to help Royce Keys by introducing a steel chair into his match against Gunther, Keys responded by throwing a chair directly at Sikoa’s face, sending him reeling on the floor.
On social media this morning, WWE star Shinsuke Nakamura took a moment to remember Tadao Yasuda and reflect on the impact Yasuda had on his life.
News broke overnight that Yasuda, a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, has passed away at 62 years old. Yasuda played an important role in Nakamura’s development by serving as his first-ever opponent when Nakamura debuted for NJPW back in 2002. In a tweet today, Nakamura thanked Yasuda for how he looked out for him when he was starting out in wrestling.
“Tadao Yasuda has passed away,” Nakamura wrote. “He was my opponent in my debut match, and because he had experience juggling mixed martial arts and professional wrestling, I will never forget how he repeatedly showed concern for me as a young wrestler when I was taking on both challenges. I pray for his soul to rest in peace.”
New Japan Pro-Wrestling is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tadao Yasuda. He was 62.
Born October 9, 1963 in Tokyo, Yasuda went into sumo wrestling from junior high school, where he competed at a high level through a 13 year career, retiring in May of 1992. From there, Yasuda would join New Japan Pro-Wrestling and debuted on February 24 1994 against Hiroshi Hase.
In the early 2000s, Yasuda would head to the original Inoki LA Dojo where he trained in MMA in addition to continuing in pro-wrestling. His efforts paid off with strong performances in 2001, and the biggest win of his fighting career on New Year’s Eve over Jerome Le Banner. The next April, Yasuda would win the vacant IWGP heavyweight Championship by defeating Yuji Nagata in a tournament final.
Heading up the fearsome Makai Club stable, Yasuda continued to be a formidable force in NJPW until his departure in 2005. Yasuda eventually retired from professional wrestling in February 2011.
The thoughts and deepest sympathies of all at New Japan Pro-Wrestling go to Yasuda’s family, friends and fans.
Tokyo Sports reports that Yasuda was found dead at his home in Tokyo on February 10. A cause of death has not been announced. He had been working at a security company until shortly before his passing.
A match featuring old rivals is set for next week’s SmackDown.
The first SmackDown following the Royal Rumble will feature Tama Tonga taking on Shinsuke Nakamura. On this week’s show, the two met face-to-face, with Tonga saying the old Nakamura would have been able to take out AJ Styles. Nakamura responded in Japanese then challenged him to a match for next week’s show in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Nakamura and Tonga’s relationship dates back to their time in New Japan Pro Wrestling. The two have been crossing paths in recent weeks, initially showing respect towards one another. On last week’s SmackDown, Tonga and Solo Sikoa won the WWE Tag Team titles, defeating the Wyatt Sicks.
Last week’s show also saw AJ Styles meet Nakamura backstage. The two longtime rivals eventually agreed to meet at Saturday Night’s Main Event the following night. Styles emerged victorious, furthering momentum ahead of the Royal Rumble. He will face Gunther in a match where if he loses, he would have to retire from WWE.
*A look at Saturday Night’s Main Event, the interest level, the Royal Rumble and Rumble odds *Big Bad Bobby Duncum, a look at the career of a worldwide headliner who worked on top with almost every major babyface of the 70s, including big WWF and AWA runs and Japanese major tournaments *CMLL has a big business week with Bandido, Ricochet, Komander, Gates of Agony and Lee Moriarty. A look at some of the best matches so far this year and the craziness that ruined could have been the best of all of them. *A look at prior plans for 2025 PPV shows that changed *A look at Netflix numbers over the past six months, as well as how every PPV in 2025 did and some surprises in that direction, as well as how Smackdown did internationally as well as NXT, and how shows that went head-to-head with AEW PPVs drew. *Notes on the TNA ratings for the first show on AMC and what they tell us. *TNA Genesis coverage *2025 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards ballot *More AEW stars to CMLL next week *AAA TV taping notes *Thoughts on the current AAA product and how it relates to Lucha Libre and WWE *Stardom makes claim against Marigold *Saya Kamitani returns early *Notes about a mainstream model who became one of the first big stars in Stardom and women’s MVP *Best tag team match of the year *New Japan next major show lineup *Eight promotions combine for a singles tournament *The potential best actual wrestler in the world signs with RAF *Feast or Fired thoughts *More on AEW’s future with the WBD sale to Netflix *Trey Miguel situation *Ticket sales for upcoming WWE & AEW shows *The most detailed look at the TV ratings over the past week *UFC returns to action with first big show of 2026 *Top exec since the inception of PFL leaves *More notes regarding a lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE *WWE headliner talks bowing out *WWE and AEW injury updates *Punk movie box office *Talent coming and going from promotions *TKO and WWE execs get millions this quarter
This issue covers the following topics:
The changes in the WrestleMania plans, the Drew McIntyre title win, Roman Reigns return and the whys.
WWE getting Will Hobbs while AEW signs a slew of new talent as well. A look at each case-by-case.
Notes on the big weekend coming to Mexico City
Kayla Harrison injury and what is the future for the biggest women’s fight in years
Win-loss records and total bouts for all top WWE/NXT talent in 2025
WWE Iron Man winner from 1984-2025
What cutting back on the schedule has taught us about injuries
Who gets protected in booking and who doesn’t
The problem with the current schedule and development of young talent
A star who has been around through various eras talks timing and injuries and best schedule
A look at TNA’s debut on AMC, what went right and wrong
When did wrestling start being a work. Studying of history shows it’s a lot earlier than you would think
Odds for WWE matches upcoming
The most detailed look at the ratings of all the pro wrestling shows this past week, as well as comparisons with the past and a look at the level of declines and why
What wrestler has already main evented 12 sold out shows in 2026
One woman wrestler announces retirement and another retires
Kazuchika Okada in Japan
Most watched New Japan World matches of 2025
Ted DiBiase Jr. on trial
Death of Rick Link, from fan clubs to main events
Jesse Ventura speaks about the current political environment
The greatest wrestler in the world signs with Eric Bischoff’s promotion
— We did two shows over the weekend. Our Friday show talked about the news of the week, Rumble, Saturday Night’s Main Event, WWE Unreal, a look at how many people outside the U.S. watched the PPV shows in 2025 and the surprises. Last night we talked about the first UFC show on Paramount, WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event and the rest of the weekend news.
— Pretty much everyone stepped up last night with the SNME show in Montreal. Every match and the non-match with Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu delivered, particularly AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. The weather made travel difficult but everyone was there advertised. AEW and many independent shows last night were canceled, which is why AEW taped Collision on Wednesday instead of last night in Arlington, TX.
— Regarding the Shinsuke Nakamura Instagram post regarding AJ Styles and that he was retiring at the Royal Rumble, he later took that down. It was legit in the sense Styles did tell him he was finishing up at the Rumble. It wasn’t a planted story so they can say they fooled the Internet. That doesn’t mean they can’t change it but to do so Gunther would have to lose, and that was not the plan.
— There evidently was a ton of interest in UFC’s debut on Paramount last night. It did 2.5 million searches, the second most searched for topic of the weekend behind Alex Pretti. Saturday Nights’ Main Event was No. 21 with 100,000. UFC had seven of the top 100 searches with Paddy Pimblett leading.
— Regarding scoring from last night, in the Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett bout, there was no doubt Gaethje won. I had it 48-46 (10-8 round two) although scores varied ranging from 49-45 to 48-47. However Gaethje did a second eye poke that should have cost him a point since he’d been warned and followed up with some big punches after. It was an early fight of the year candidate. Not great on the skill side since Gaethje was just firing big punches, with some major misses, but he landed enough of them hard enough to win. Most wouldn’t have stayed standing. Pimblett did show a lot of durability.
— In Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong the judges had it 29-28 across the board with O’Malley getting rounds one and three on all scorecards. Media scores were 59 percent for O’Malley so it was a close fight.
— Most had Rose Namajunas over Natalia Silva. All three judges had rounds one and three for Silva. However, media scores were 74 percent for Namajunas. The winner was to get a shot at Valentina Shevchenko for the flyweight title, but I could see that not happening since either looked like they should be getting a title fight coming out of this.
— Lilian Garcia will be the ring announcer on Raw tomorrow night. Alicia Taylor was unable to get into Toronto due to flight cancellations. Garcia was in Montreal for last night’s show so they had her go to Toronto to fill in.
— There was a very notable increase in viewers for NXT last Tuesday. While the overall number was about the same as usual (608,000 viewers and 0.08 in 18-49), it grew from 18,000 to 68,000 in 18-49 from the first half hour to the final half hour, which was the three-way women’s tag match with Sol Ruca & Zaria over Kendall Grey & Wren Sinclair. It also went from 68,000 to 156,000 in 18-49 over the same period. That is an extremely unusual level of growth.
— Last night’s fight with Michael Johnson vs. Alexander Hernandez was pulled from the UFC show. What happened was all of a sudden a ton of money was coming in on Johnson, the underdog. Evidently Hernandez was injured, the word got around from people who knew him and started betting on him to lose. The odds started falling which is the sign of either a fixed fight or people getting inside info and using it to lay a lot of money down in one direction. After the last time this happened and UFC didn’t call the fight, which in hindsight appeared to be fixed, Dana White said that they had gotten called from the gaming integrity service and they decided to pull the fight. There were gambling sites that had already pulled the fight by that time.
— CMLL had a big last two nights. Usually for Friday, and even more for Saturday, it takes a major show to sell out. Friday was just a normal Mistico & Mascara Dorada vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Averno and they drew 16,000 to Arena Mexico. Last night at Arena Coliseo, the sellout was Templario & Atlantis Jr. vs. Volador Jr.
— Juggalo Championship Wrestling announced a 4/17 show in Las Vegas at the Horseshoe Casino for StrangleMania. It will air on Triller on 4/24 at 7 pm with seven matches. The main event is Vampiro’s retirement match against PCO. Yes, he is going to Terry Funk’s record. Plus Rob Van Dam & Willie Mack & 2 Tuff Tony vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson & KENTA, a four-way for the JCW world title with Ken Anderson, Nic Nemeth, Matt Riddle and Kaleb Conley with James Storm as referee. Also appearing are John Layfield, The Rock & Roll Express, Vince Russo, EC3, Ninja Mack, George South, ICP and Mecha Wolf.
— They’ve been in talks with Layfield about becoming a full-time performer on their weekly television show. They are also repackaging EC3 as a full-timer with a new gimmick starting on the 2/27 show in Miami. Former ECW personality Joel Gertner will also become a regular and will manage a tag team. Former WCW announcer Scott Hudson will be coming in in maybe six weeks or so. Jonathan Coachman will also be a TV regular.
— Mayu Iwatani had her 15th anniversary show at the Marigold show yesterday at Korakuen Hall, beating Utami Hayashishita. Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane, who were the big three stars with Iwatani in Stardom for years, sent massive flowers to Iwatani at the show.
— Willow Nightingale has been added to the Pro Wrestling Eve show on 3/8 in London that Will Ospreay is part of putting together.
— 48 years ago today was the Superbowl of Wrestling, with NWA champion Harley Race vs. WWWF champion Superstar Billy Graham at the Orange Bowl in Miami. This clip from the WWE Vault off Championship Wrestling from Florida shows the press conference and highlights of the 60-minute match with the wet ring from a rainstorm. Graham told me about this, as it was one of the bigger matches of his career. It was not a fond memory as he was not a wrestler to go 60 and doing it in the rain made it worse. It was not the financial success expected because in those days everyone bought tickets the day of, and people didn’t want to go to an outdoor stadium in the rain.
— Nik Sobic, the Senior Vice President of Business Development, Partnerships and Video Games with AEW, has been let go. He had been with AEW since the start working in business, live events and on the video game.
— Mercedes Martinez appears for Progress Wrestling on 3/29 in London at the Electric Ballroom.
— The woman on Collision last night who took the selfie with Andrade was Sofia Sivan, who is an independent woman wrestler.
— Ian Douglass has written a new book called Highland Games and Hippodromes: Scottish Identity and Influence at the Dawn of the American Pro Wrestling Industry, about the early era of pro wrestling in the U.S. and Scotland. He focuses on Donald Dinnie (a super athlete at the time), Duncan C. Ross, Duncan McMillan and Dan McLeod, and how they shaped pro wrestling in the U.S. from 1870 to 1905. Drew McIntyre wrote the foreword.
— Roy Wayne Farris (Honky Tonk Man) turned 73 today. Rod Price turned 64. Stephanie Bellars, the former Gorgeous George with Randy Savage in WCW, turned 50. Michelle McCool turned 46. Stu Grayton turned 37. Willow Nightingale turned 32. Jay Briscoe was born 42 years ago today. (thanks to Tony Richards)
— Georgiann Makropolous, who was well known inside wrestling for doing newsletters and was someone many, including myself, considered a close friend, died 16 years ago today at the age of 67. She helped so many wrestlers out with bookings and connections and asked for no money for her work. She was the President of both the Bruno Sammartino Fan Club in the 60s (the biggest in the country) and the Buddy Rogers Fan Club, which tells you something because they hated each other.
— The University of Nebraska set its home college wrestling attendance record last night in their meet against Iowa at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. They drew 7,891 fans, breaking the record of 7,094 set earlier this season against Oklahoma State.
— Kirk White’s Big Time Wrestling sold out more than a week in advance in Newark, CA for the annual January Battle Royal and Roy Shire trophy. The Cow Palace Battle Royal was the biggest show of the year in Northern California during the 70s and led to the creation of the Royal Rumble by Pat Patterson, also held annually in late January. CJ Cleary won the Battle Royal. Other results saw Ricochet b Starboy Charlie in what I was told was a fantastic match, Cleary b Alan Angels, Gates of Agony b Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito (why is this guy not signed anywhere?), Aaron Solo & Chase Emery b Big Fonz & Marcus Lewis, Los Suavecitos b Hard Boy Summer, VertVixen b Brittniue Brooks. The next show is 3/20. They are also running Las Vegas on 4/17 over WrestleMania week. (thanks to Jim Davis)
Shinsuke Nakamura may have spoiled the result of AJ Styles vs. Gunther at the WWE Royal Rumble.
Following Nakamura and Styles’ match at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in Montreal, Nakamura posted a statement to Instagram about his longtime rival. In the since-deleted post, Nakamura mentioned that Styles previously told him that he plans to retire at this year’s Royal Rumble.
“During last year’s Australia tour, at a house show in Melbourne, AJ gave a speech after the match. Listening to it, it was clear he was thanking the fans. But somehow, it also felt like he was hinting that retirement might not be that far away. The tour continued to Japan, and before the shows there, I asked him something. We were in a van on the way to the meet and greet. I asked him, ‘When are you going to retire’ He answered, ‘The Royal Rumble. I’ve already decided.'”
Styles’ career will be on the line when he wrestles Gunther on the January 31 event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Should it be his final match with WWE, it would mark 10 years from his debut in the company, which took place at the 2016 Royal Rumble.
Nakamura’s post is no longer published on Instagram. However, fans online have captured screenshots of it below:
🚨| Shinsuke Nakamura just confirmed that AJ Styles is indeed retiring at the Royal Rumble next week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“I asked him, ‘When are you going to retire?’ He answered, ‘At the Royal Rumble. I’ve already decided.’” pic.twitter.com/6gCvPGzRgc
AJ Styles will meet an old rival at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
During SmackDown, Aldis asked Styles why he would put his career on the line against Gunther at the Royal Rumble. Styles shared his feelings about Gunther’s recent actions, but then Aldis revealed he had another reason to bring him to Montreal. Shinsuke Nakamura then walked in and said before he stepped into the ring with Gunther, Styles should prove he’s still phenomenal by facing him. The two agreed to the match for Saturday.
Styles and Nakamura have feuded in the past, both in New Japan Pro Wrestling and in WWE. They wrestled in the co-main event of Wrestle Kingdom 10 which saw Nakamura retain the IWGP Intercontinental title over Styles.
The match comes as Styles is set to put his career on the line against Gunther at the Royal Rumble. After Gunther emerged victorious in their first match, Styles demanded a second. But Gunther would only face Styles again if he put up his career, which he agreed to.
WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event (January 24)
Cody Rhodes vs. Jacob Fatu
Number one contender’s match for WWE Championship: Damian Priest vs. Randy Orton vs. Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams’
WWE Women’s Tag Team titles: Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY defend against Judgment Day (Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez)
Shinsuke Nakamura sent a gift to Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Ahead of his final match on Sunday, Hiroshi Tanahashi posted a picture of flowers on social media, with people noting that the flowers come from longtime rival Nakamura.
“Thank you,” Tanahashi wrote in his post.
In the build-up to Tanahashi’s last match, speculation arose over who Tanahashi’s final opponent would be. Nakamura, who left NJPW in 2016 to join WWE, came up as a possible name despite NJPW and WWE having no relationship and NJPW’s strong relationship with AEW. In the end, it was Kazuchika Okada who ended up challenging Tanahashi in what will be his final match at Wrestle Kingdom 20.
On social media, Nakamura noted that he was going to wake up early tomorrow, a possible hint he’d at least be watching Wrestle Kingdom.
The two faced off multiple times in their career, including Wrestle Kingdom 8 in 2014 where Tanahashi beat Nakamura to win the IWGP Intercontinental title. Their final singles match was the finals of the 2015 G1 Climax tournament where Tanahashi defeated Nakamura once again.
Others on social media, including Ivar and JC Mateo from WWE, also paid tribute to Tanahashi.
The storied career of Hiroshi Tanahashi comes to an end in mere weeks when he retires following his last match at Wrestle Kingdom 20 at the Tokyo Dome.
In this episode of the Pacific Rim Pro Wrestling Podcast, Fumi Saito and Jim Valley talk about the life, career and influence of the man Fumi calls one of the top two most influential wrestlers of this century, who he best compares with, his key moments, Scott Hall’s opinion and more.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with the Friday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, talking about all the big news from today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Here were some of the things we discussed:
AEW WrestleDream business
WWE’s main event roster depth
AEW Dynamite ratings
John Muse’s Sabu WON HOF case
Friday’s Arena Mexico show
The politics surrounding Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement match
At 45 years old, Shinsuke Nakamura still has hope that he’ll be a WWE World Champion one day.
Nakamura told Tokyo Sports in a new interview that becoming World Champion remains a WWE goal that he is focused on. He wants to accomplish the feat not just for himself but to pave the way for other Japanese and Asian men to do so in the future.
“I believe in it, so I keep going. That’s the World Heavyweight Championship. I just want to win that,” Nakamura said. “For Japanese wrestlers on this American stage, especially the men, that’s the barrier we haven’t broken through yet
“I don’t know if it’s proof or anything, but I sometimes wonder what would happen if I couldn’t do it. I hope I can leave some kind of path, or hope, for the next generation of Japanese and Asian people.”
Though peers like John Cena, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and AJ Styles will be retiring from the ring soon, Nakamura told Tokyo Sports that retirement is not an immediate concern for him. Still, he knows that nothing lasts forever and his career is a lot closer to the end than the beginning.
“Fortunately, I’ve had almost no injuries, so it’s not like I have to retire immediately,” he said. “But nothing lasts forever. If someone said I have 10 more years, I’d have my doubts. If they said five, maybe. You never know what tomorrow brings, so I just have to do what I can now.”
Nakamura was a multi-time World Champion for NJPW and did hold the NXT Championship a couple of times after arriving in WWE. On the main roster, he’s been a midcard and tag team champion but has not held either the WWE Championship or World Heavyweight title.
Dave Meltzer believes Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura is possible for Tanahashi’s retirement match at Wrestle Kingdom 20.
WWE presented back-to-back live events on Thursday and Friday in Tokyo, and Nakamura gave a subtle shoutout to Tanahashi, using his “Aishitemasu” catchphrase. Tanahashi responded to Nakamura on social media, writing (translated), “Hmm? I think I heard something…”
This led to some fans speculating that Nakamura could be announced as Tanahashi’s opponent for the January 4, 2026, show in the Tokyo Dome. Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed the possibility of such a match taking place on last night’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.
Meltzer said on the show:
“Nakamura, on the first night in Tokyo, he was doing some Tanahashi mannerisms. So there’s been a lot, a lot of talk about Tanahashi and Nakamura at the Tokyo Dome show. I would just say it’s not a done deal right now.”
“Could it happen? I mean, Nakamura has in his contract he can do stuff in Japan, that was part of the deal that he signed. It’s a weird political thing, because obviously New Japan and AEW work very closely together, and Nakamura is a WWE guy.”
“My gut is that, and I could be dead wrong, even though WWE and AEW are feuding, and all the stuff WWE does to AEW constantly, I do think that Tony Khan – I don’t know, people are going like oh he’s going to get really mad and I don’t know – maybe he will but I don’t think so. I just think it’s Tanahashi’s retirement, and if Tanahashi wants to retire against Nakamura, and they can pull that off, I think it should be okay.“
If Nakamura vs. Tanahashi is announced for Wrestle Kingdom 20, it would take place on the 21st anniversary of their first singles match against one another. One year before the first Wrestle Kingdom event was held, Nakamura defeated Tanahashi in the Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2005, at NJPW Toukon Festival. They would go on to wrestle each other in another 16 singles matches throughout their careers, with Tanahashi having won their last bout in the finals of the G1 Climax in 2015.
Shinsuke Nakamura has joined a growing list of wrestlers who believe their career is coming close to an end.
Nakamura wrestled on both nights of WWE’s back-to-back shows in Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan on Thursday and Friday. He teamed with Jey Uso on both nights, defeating Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed in tag team action. He also helped AJ Styles send a special message to the live crowd after Friday’s show, as it was likely Styles’ last time wrestling in the country.
Nakamura posted a message to social media on Saturday, writing:
“What a special place Japan is. especially for those of us who wrestle. As AJ said, it’s a place worthy of giving everything you’ve got. Of course, that’s true anywhere in the world… but there’s something sacred here. I don’t know if it’s because I’m Japanese, but I believe the wrestlers and fans who shared this space all felt the same. Maybe. He did too — John Cena, AJ — they’ve all chosen to step away from the ring. It reminds me that my own time might not be far off. But I still have things I must do. I’m still struggling, still fighting, not knowing what tomorrow will bring. All I can do is live this day with everything I have. Thank you. If only… one more time…”
Nakamura, Styles, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows all left New Japan Pro Wrestling to sign with WWE in 2016. Since then, Styles has won the WWE Championship twice, the United States title three times, and the Intercontinental title once. Nakamura has won the 2018 Royal Rumble, the NXT Championship twice, the United States title three times, and the Intercontinental title twice.
What a special place Japan is. especially for those of us who wrestle.
As AJ said, it’s a place worthy of giving everything you’ve got. Of course, that’s true anywhere in the world… but there’s something sacred here. I don’t know if it’s because I’m Japanese, but I believe the…
Nakamura returned to his home country on Friday for the first of two WWE live events at Sumo Hall in Tokyo. The show featured a tag team bout where Nakamura & Jey Uso were victorious over Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed. Following the match, Nakamura briefly spoke to the crowd and used Hiroshi Tanahashi’s catchphrase “Aishitemasu” — which means “I love you” in Japanese.
“Tokyo! WWE is back at [Sumo Hall] again this year. Are you having fun? Let’s have more fun than any other city in the world,” he said. “Japan, I love you!”
Tanahashi took note of the reference by tweeting the following: “Huh? I thought I heard something…”
Coming up together at the same time, Tanahashi and Nakamura were both partners and rivals during their NJPW careers, helping lead the company to its modern era success. Nakamura departed NJPW for WWE in 2016.
Tanahashi — who is now the president of NJPW — is finishing up his in-ring career with his retirement match set to take place at the Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2026. An opponent for the match has not been announced yet. Nakamura being an option would appear to be unlikely given that NJPW is close partners with AEW & CMLL and is not aligned with WWE. Pro Wrestling NOAH and Marigold are promotions that WWE works with in Japan.
At Friday’s SmackDown in Australia, two absent WWE stars made their returns after having been off TV for months.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Tama Tonga both returned on the pre-Crown Jewel edition of SmackDown in Perth, Australia. Nakamura answered Sami Zayn’s United States Championship open challenge at the show. He was going for a Kinshasa at the end of the bout when Tonga interfered and caused a disqualification.
— The Movement – Pro Wrestling (@TheMovementXx) October 10, 2025
A post-match angle then saw Tonga, Talla Tonga, Tanga Loa, and JC Mateo beat down both Nakamura and Zayn. With his Family Tree now at full strength, Solo Sikoa then appeared with the other four as they stood tall over Nakamura and Zayn. Sikoa had been United States Champion before dropping the title to Zayn at the end of August.
Since becoming champion, Zayn has made weekly open challenges the theme of his United States title reign. Nakamura answering the challenge today pitted him against one of his most memorable WWE opponents, with Zayn having been the first person Nakamura ever faced when he arrived in NXT in 2016.
Nakamura had a babyface presentation today with his old “Rising Sun” theme music coming back.
— The Movement – Pro Wrestling (@TheMovementXx) October 10, 2025
Before their returns, Nakamura and Tonga had been away since June and April respectively. Nakamura’s absence was due to not being used, while an undisclosed injury had been rumored for Tonga.
Sikoa and his Family Tree also appeared later on today’s SmackDown for a confrontation with The Wyatt Sicks. The episode took place from Perth, Australia and aired live on Netflix outside of the United States. It will be broadcast on USA Network tonight in its regular 8 p.m. Eastern time slot.
