10 NJPW Matches We Most Want To See In 2018
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs. Daniel Bryan
The prospect of Daniel Bryan entering the New Japan Pro Wrestling domain is both captivating and terrifying, almost irrespective of an indeterminate physical condition.
Bryan feasibly could withstand the stiff punishment required of a New Japan main event - we've really no idea - but probably shouldn't. It's telling that the man himself, optimistic in the extreme about his physical condition, has stressed the part-time nature of any prospective return. Is this a concession to his new family, or a certain apprehension on his own part? Like so much of Bryan's status, the answer to that question remains unclear. What is crystal clear is the safest and arguably best potential New Japan opponent: supplanted company Ace Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Tanahashi wrestled one of the greatest matches of 21st century, opposite Minoru Suzuki at King Of Pro-Wrestling 2012, in which zero near-falls were traded. An absolute masterclass of pacing and strategy, the space between moves and the most subtle of psychological wrinkles have rarely been explored with such understated panache. Tanahashi is the purest wrestler on the planet, able to draw admiration where most trade in anxiety.
Tanahashi and Bryan could yield next-level drama, without touching their bump clocks, in a match as promising as it is necessary.