5 Post-WWE Matches for Drew Gulak

Hiroshi Tanahashi

And now for something completely different: the final two matches on this list are against wrestlers Drew Gulak has never faced before.

Say Gulak heads over to New Japan for his next career step, is there a bigger name to challenge than Hiroshi Tanahashi? Sure, Okada is all the range now, but there’s a reason Tana is still “the ace” of the company. Somehow, Tanahashi is still defying time and performing at the highest level of the sport. Sounds like a worthy challenge for a guy who just bet on himself and let his contract expire.

You don’t need me to list Tanahashi’s resume. He’s won just about every championship there is in NJPW, he’s won titles in partner promotions like CMLL and RevPro, he’s a Wrestling Observer Hall of Famer, and arguably one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.

To really challenge yourself and to really push yourself, you shoot for the apex of your profession. Drew Gulak is certainly a man who wants to be recognized for his talents, so a match in NJPW against Tanahashi would certainly be a way to get eyes on you.

Even as he slows down in the later stages of his career, Tana can still go hold for hold with the best of them. As an innovator in the past, who’s to say he wouldn’t come up with some new tricks for a match against a young and hungry scrapper like Gulak?

The best thing about this possible match is that Tanahashi’s status as a legend would make a match in any place on the card a borderline main event in a major promotion – something that has eluded Gulak thus far in his career. Given the chance, I’d bet he could handle that pressure and rise to the occasion.