NJPW: Previewing the Best of the Super Juniors Finals

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Jay White

Jay White ruins everything. This isn’t an opinion – it’s a fact.

When Hiroshi Tanahashi made his return at Wrestling Dontaku, the fans in attendance and watching at home rejoiced. The Ace had been missing since G1 Supercard when he fell, via submission, to Zack Sabre Jr. The work of the Submission Master was enough to aggravate Tana’s lingering injuries and put him on the shelf.

Much like Kota Ibushi at New Beginning, Tanahashi announced that he was ready to get back in the ring and rise to the top of the New Japan card.

And then, Jay White interrupted.

Sauntering down the ramp with the every-shady Gedo by his side, White elicited the proper response from the crowd in Fukuoka – resounding boos. White stood face to face with Tanahashi and laid one of the coldest insults to ever be uttered in wrestling. The Switchblade claimed that Tanahashi was at “the back of the line” when it came to getting a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Title, “even behind Goto.”

There’s no need for dragging someone that hard, Jay.

After a distraction from Gedo, White laid waste to Tanahashi with a laser focus on his injured arm. The attack lasted only a matter of minutes before a crew of Young Lions was able to afford Tana an escape route. The furious White proclaimed, once more, that he was next in line for a shot at the championship before exiting.

In backstage comments from Tanahashi after the attack, The Ace’s promo nearly caused me to burst into tears. There he stood, the 8-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, silent and contemplative as cameras rolled and shutters clicked. He looked on the brink of tears himself as he likely replayed the attack in his mind.

Finally, he spoke and left us with the words and determination we all needed at this moment, perhaps Tanahashi himself the most: “As long as I still have this fire, I’ll always return to the ring.”

Cue the waterworks.

Tanahashi now stands at the crossroads of a career. 2019 has, thus far, been filled with the highest of highs and lowest of lows for the Ace of the Universe. On January 4, he bathed in the adoration of fans after unseating Kenny Omega as the IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

Just a month later, though, Jay White came through with the Switchblade Shock in Osaka by capturing the championship for the very first time.

In April, Tanahashi fell to ZSJ and sat on the shelf for a month after having some much-needed work done on his left arm.

Jay White’s claim all along has been that Tanahashi’s time is up and this new era in New Japan should henceforth be known as the Cutthroat Era with his version of Bullet Club leading the way. While White has been on his own turbulent path this year, he may have more momentum on his side heading into June 5 than Tanahashi.

This notion isn’t lost on Tanahashi. Painfully self-aware, Tana discussed the dualities of himself and White in an interview on NJPW’s English language site. When pressed about his looming battle with his rival Tana noted, “To tell you the truth, he’s a high hurdle to clear. To that kid who came back from his excursion to face me, I was a big hurdle to him at the time. Now I’m coming back and he’s the hurdle. It’s almost a role reversal in that regard.”

On June 5, the true test of age versus experience will be at hand.