Hiroshi Tanahashi: I’d Like To See SANADA Step Up

Hiroshi Tanahashi weighs in on SANADA not being Tokyo Sports MVP. 

Tokyo Sports named Tetsuya Naito the MVP for 2023 based off his work in NJPW and winning the G1 Climax. SANADA spent the majority of the year as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, but was in Naito’s shadow when it came to MVP voting. 

“I’m trying to put myself in SANADA’s shoes. He won the title in April, defended it for eight months, but he wasn’t in the Tokyo Sports MVP running, and Naito blew him away. Didn’t win MVP or Outstanding Achievement either. So I’d like to see him really step up,” Tanahashi told NJPW. “If it was me, and I lost the title to Naito in this situation, it would be hard for me to come back from that.”

SANADA is set to defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Title against Naito at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18. 

“If things go the way they are, he’ll lose his title and his career to Naito. There’s enough Naito fans to where it could be an all Naito crowd in there. I’d really like the SANADA fans to pull through for him. I mean, a gift in the Tokyo Dome would be a heck of a sight. When I’ve wrestled Naito in the past and the support was all on him, I found the best way to deal with it was to shut out those voices and just focus on what I was doing. I want SANADA to be selfish in there. SANADA isn’t the most expressive, and it’s hard for the fans to really see how he feels. He’s got that poker face to him. But I want to see him get angry, to the fans if need be. If there’s a big chant for Naito, I’d like him to let everybody know who the champion is. I think the people will see that frustration, and it might just swing the casual fans on the fence to be contrarian and cheer for him,” said Tanahashi. 

Tanahashi is set to challenge Zack Sabre Jr for the NJPW World TV Title at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18. 

Fans can check out the lineup for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 by clicking here.