Tony Khan Addresses Criticism Of Hiroshi Tanahashi's Recent AEW Matches

Hiroshi Tanahashi lost at his second Forbidden Door show in a row, with the legendary ace of New Japan failing in his bid to defeat MJF for the AEW World Championship on June 25.

Tanahashi’s recent performances in AEW during Forbidden Door season have been the subject of some criticism, but AEW President Tony Khan has leaped to Tanahashi’s defence, saying the following on Busted Open Radio:

“It’s a vocal minority on social media. I think the vast majority of fans who follow the sport closely know that (Hiroshi) Tanahashi’s a legend, that it’s amazing that he’s fighting through these injuries and doing the best he can and yeah, he’s got bad knees and every once in a while, he might have a slip as he tries high-flying moves but in the end, he had an amazing fight on Collision, he had a great match, Tanahashi versus Swerve (Strickland) and he had a great match with MJF at the pay-per-view and not everything Tanahashi does is the same as it was 10 years ago or 15 years ago.

“But, Tanahashi is one of the great legends of the sport and certainly over the years, he’s accomplished so much and I know that, really, for us in AEW, we have so much respect for him and I think what you said makes a lot of sense but, you can’t let the opinion of a couple people get in the way of a great career of somebody like Tanahashi,” said Khan. 

Reports in recent months have suggested that Tanahashi has been wrestling through knee issues, with the 46-year-old legend’s participation in the upcoming G1 Climax Tournament the subject of concern for doctors.

H/T: eWrestling News