Professional wrestling is not defined by wins and losses alone. It is built on time, relationships, and stories accumulated over years. At Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement match, many fans were left with a quiet sense of discomfort. Why didn’t Shinsuke Nakamura stand in that ring? This question is not an accusation. It gently reveals the deeper essence of professional wrestling as a cultural narrative.
🔖 If you want to read it again later, you can save it.
On iPhone/iPad: Share → Add to Home Screen .
You can quietly return to articles that stayed with you.
Wrestling Cannot Be Defined by Wins and Losses Alone
The culture of professional wrestling has not been shaped solely by wins and losses or records.
Hiroshi Tanahashi's retirement match left a deep impression on many people. At the same time, however, it also left a sense of discomfort. Why couldn't Shinsuke Nakamura stand in the ring?
This question is neither emotionalism nor criticism. It is to consider what the culture of professional wrestling has valued and what it is losing sight of. It invites us to reflect on what professional wrestling has truly valued—and what may now be slipping out of view.
There is certainly value in wrestling that cannot be measured by numbers or contracts. The wrestlers who have continued to stand in the ring have spoken most eloquently about this.
The Story That Was Never Told
WRESTLE KINGDOM 20 in Tokyo Dome - Hiroshi Tanahashi Retirement" (1.4, Ittenyon) was a night with special meaning for many fans. This was not only because of the fact that it was a retirement match, but also because it was a night that marked a milestone in the relationships and stories that had been built up over a long period of time.
Wrestling is not a complete story that ends with the match itself. The years leading up to it, the choices that have been crossed, and even the promises that were never made are all included in a single story.
That is why there must have been many people who felt some unspoken sense of discomfort about the evening.
There was indeed a story going on in the ring. However, behind the scenes, it seemed as if there was a story left untold.
That is a little different from wanting to blame someone else. It is the feeling that there was too much time and thought involved to pretend it didn't happen.
I am sure that not a few people felt that this untold story pointed to his relationship with Shinsuke Nakamura.
Fans Watch More Than Just the Match
Wrestling fans see more than just wins and losses and names of techniques. Rather, what is often gripping is the background to getting into the ring and the choices made to get there.
The relationship between wrestlers who have spent many years together. The tension and trust that comes from having lived through the same era. These are values that cannot be measured by numbers or results.
The emotions left in the hearts of many people at the Ittenyon must have been rooted there as well.
This wish is not merely selfishness. It is a natural feeling that comes from having loved the culture of professional wrestling for a long time.
Wrestling is a story, an inheritance. It is about knowing the past, looking at the present, and connecting to the future.
It can be understood as that this event has left a deep impression on many fans because we have cherished that linkage.
Fans Watch More Than Just the Match
It seems to many fans that the emotion felt by many fans this time was not mere disappointment. It was discomfort with the decision.
In wrestling, not every choice will work out as ideal. Fans understand that there are constraints, circumstances, and barriers that cannot be easily crossed.
Nevertheless, the reason why it remained stuck in my mind was probably because I could not shake the question of how well the decision faced the core of the culture of professional wrestling.
Wrestling is not something that is established solely on the basis of an instantaneous buzz. It is only through relationships nurtured over a long period of time and accumulated emotions that a single choice has meaning.
That is why this decision left a strong impression on how the story was handled before it was rational or not.
It is not so much a feeling of anger, but more like a quiet question as to why we did not step in there.
The Discomfort Caused by a Decision
The stories of professional wrestling are sometimes more powerful than we can imagine. They can linger in people's memories, be passed down through generations, and have an impact that transcends groups and borders.
Perhaps they were afraid of its power. Such a thought comes to mind.
A story that is too strong has the potential to become unmanageable. Emotions may move in unintended directions and create uncontrollable heat.
However, wrestling is a culture that has inherently lived with such heat.
Some things can be protected by making a series of safe choices, but at the same time, some things are lost.
What many fans felt at this Ittenyon was not the event itself that never happened,but a future that could have been stepped into — and was not chosen.
That is not a criticism, just a sentiment born of people who have loved wrestling and believe in the potential of this culture.
What Wrestling Has Passed Down
Wrestling is not a sport that is remembered only for its wins and losses. Rather, the relationships between people and the time behind them have long been passed down through the ages.
Who have they fought with, who have they stood alongside, and what era have they lived through? Such accumulation is conveyed without words in the ring. This is one of the peculiarities of the culture of professional wrestling.
That is why retirements and milestone matches have been perceived as a place of succession, not just a break.
Rather than ending the past, it hands over the time that has been built up to the next story. Wrestling has fulfilled this role many times.
Perhaps the true reason for the sense of loss felt by many fans this time was that they could not see the “moment of succession.
This is not to say that someone was wrong, but rather that the context that wrestling has always valued seemed to have come to a standstill.
Untold Stories Are Part of Wrestling
A match that did not happen.
Gazes that did not cross.
A future that was not chosen.
They do not all disappear as if they never existed.
Wrestling is a single history that holds stories that were never told, but continue to accumulate. There are relationships that are depicted and told over and over again in the imagination because they did not come true. This is not an unfulfilled memory, but part of the richness of this culture.
This Ittenyon was not a night where everything was perfect either. However, it is true that because of its imperfections, some things remained strong in our hearts.
Wrestling has always walked with the reality that, despite doing its best, things do not always turn out the way you want them to. Yet, the way they continue to stand in the ring has been etched in the memories of many people.
And Yet, Wrestling Goes On
Wrestling is not something that is completed in a single match. Even if a break comes, it does not mean the end of the story itself.
When someone steps out of the ring, someone who grew up watching his or her back will step into the ring again. In this way, time is passed on little by little.
This Ittenyon may not have been a night in which all of our thoughts and feelings were exchanged. However, something was left behind that will surely lead to the next event.
If you look back on the history of professional wrestling, you will see that it has been made up of a series of what-ifs. The matches that did not come to pass, the futures that did not intersect, have all become the thickness of this culture.
That is why It is likely that it is part of wrestling that there are stories that were never told.
The Ring Is Still Ongoing
Stories don't always go as planned. Nevertheless, as long as there are people who continue to stand in the ring, wrestling will continue to move forward.
In fact, Tanahashi has said he will continue training after retirement.
Some relationships may not have an answer now. But there is no need to force it to be complete.
The future is not yet written. Therefore, there is room for imagination and time to believe and wait.
The discomfort I felt on this night, the sense of loss, were all born from my feelings for wrestling. And those feelings will find their meaning the next time something unfolds in the ring — just as wrestling has done so many times before.
Because wrestling has shown us those stories time and again.
Related Articles :
- Retirement Wasn’t the End — The Continuing Story of Hiroshi Tanahashi After Wrestle Kingdom 20
- Why My Heart Stopped the First Night I Watched New Japan Pro-Wrestling — Why a Retirement I Thought I Understood Felt So Heavy
- 【Live Report】WRESTLE KINGDOM 20 at Tokyo Dome｜Witnessing Hiroshi Tanahashi’s Retirement
On iPhone / iPad, go to Share → Add to Home Screen .
You can quietly return to articles that stayed with you. 📦
