AJ Styles has high hopes for how Hiroshi Tanahashi would have done if he ever came over to WWE. As someone who made the crossover from New Japan Pro Wrestling to WWE with great success, \'The Phenomenal\' AJ Styles would certainly be as good of an authority on this matter as anyone. Tanahashi had a prolific run as an in-ring competitor for NJPW and presently serves as the president of the strong style centric promotion.
With his in-ring career set to end at Wrestle Kingdom in January, it seems like Tanahashi being in a WWE ring is a thing of the past but hypotheticals can be fun to entertain. During an interview with Tokyo Sports, Styles expressed his praise for New Japan\'s Ace and spoke to several other Japanese media outlets ahead of a pair of shows WWE is doing over there. Those shows transpire on October 17th and 18th at Rygoku Sumo Hall in Tokyo.
Discussing how he thiinks Tanahashi would have fared if he came over to WWE [which Tanahashi entertained doing between 2004-2005 before becoming NJPW\'s Ace], Styles said:
\"I think he would have done great. Like my own kids, there are a lot of anime fans here. Tanahashi, including his hairstyle, is like an anime character himself, so I think he would have been a hit. Plus, he understands this industry deeply, so he would have definitely succeeded.\
AJ Styles partakes in another big TKO-related media appearance
AJ Styles has been doing quite a bit of media work to promote his looming match with John Cena at WWE\'s Crown Jewel but his appearances for TKO-helmed properties don\'t stop there. Styles was also seen at UFC 320 over the weekend and was featured in one of their customary cageside shots showing distinguished guests in attention. TKO\'s official X account signal boosted the post from October 4th even more by sharing it on their socials as the former WWE, TNA, and IWGP champion was showcased prominently.
WWe stars like Stephanie Vaquer and Drew McIntyre have also appeared cageside for previous UFC cards. Styles got to take in Alex Pereira regaining his light heavyweight title in the main event as well as Merab Dvalishvili retaining his bantamweight crown in the penultimate fight of the night.
