10 WWE vs NJPW Matches That Need To Happen 2

2. John Cena VS Hiroshi Tanahashi

When people look at New Japan, they often view Hiroshi Tanahashi as the “John Cena” of the promotion. He’s the scrappy face that overcomes odds, is loved by the younger crowd members and the female crowd members, has helped to carry the company on his back for years, and often has to fight off criticism from fans who think he’s “getting stale”.
This would be viewed as a mega match, with the man who is, arguably, Japan’s most popular worker taking on the man who is probably the most popular worker on the planet, as far as “name brand” is concerned. It isn’t “Era VS Era”, but “Country VS Country” certainly fits. However, the headline for this one that works the best is “Sports Entertainment VS Pro Wrestling”, with Cena leading the way for the more North Americanized style that everyone knows and expects from WWE, and Tanahashi fighting for the more traditional Puroresu style that everyone knows and expects from New Japan and many of the wrestling organizations in that country. This would get the wrestling media of the world buzzing like no other match on this list, and rightfully so.
Even with all of that said, it’s not like the match would be of a low quality. Tanahashi has had some fantastic matches in the last few years, and despite what some on the internet blindly think about him, Cena has, as well. Both men step up when the lights shine the brightest, and there should be zero doubts as to whether or not they could put on a good match here.