---
title: "WWE’s John Cena Reacts After Hiroshi Tanahashi Retirement Match"
canonical: "https://wrestletalk.com/news/john-cena-reacts-hiroshi-tanahashi-retirement-njpw/"
type: "post"
language: "en-US"
author: "Sanchez Taylor"
section: "News"
published: "2026-01-04T18:08:39Z"
modified: "2026-01-04T18:31:52Z"
---

# WWE’s John Cena Reacts After Hiroshi Tanahashi Retirement Match

WWE’s John Cena has now reacted to Hiroshi Tanahashi’s in-ring retirement, sharing a nod to the Ace following NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20.

Hiroshi Tanahashi headlined the January 4 event, ultimately coming up short against AEW’s Kazuchika Okada in his last match.

NJPW held a retirement ceremony for Tanahashi following this bout, with a number of familiar faces returning to hand flowers to the president of NJPW.

John Cena has now taken to [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DTGOiFFjzr_/?hl=en) to give a nod to Tanahashi, sharing a photo of the Ace holding the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

As always, John Cena posted this photo without a caption. You can view Cena’s post below, or at [this link.](https://www.instagram.com/p/DTGOiFFjzr_/?hl=en)

A number of AEW stars appeared during Tanahashi’s retirement ceremony, including Will Ospreay, Kota Ibushi and Jay White, who have all been[absent from TV](https://wrestletalk.com/news/aew-absent-njpw-wrestle-kingdom-20/) in recent months.

John Cena also recently stepped away from the ring, wrestling his final match at the [December 13](https://www.wwe.com/shows/snme/saturday-nights-main-event-december-2025) WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event special.

John Cena faced off against GUNTHER, ultimately losing by submission, before WWE stars surrounded the ring to applaud the 17-time world champion.

![WWE star John Cena's instagram post of NJPW's Hiroshi Tanahashi](https://cdn.wrestletalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/john-cena-hiroshi-tanahashi-ig-jan-4.jpg)

[![](https://cdn.wrestletalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/wrestling-masterclass-9-stars-webp-768x127.webp)](https://www.wrestlingmasterclass.com/)

**To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, [follow us on Threads by clicking this link](https://www.threads.net/@wrestletalk.official)!**