5 matches John Cena needs to have before he retires

#3 Hiroshi Tanahashi

USA vs. Japan

While Cena vs. Omega has the potential to change the course of professional wrestling forever, Cena vs Tanahashi would be more about bringing two worlds together in an enormous, sensationalist way. For everything Cena has been to the WWE over the past 15 years, Tanahashi has been for NJPW and the two men deserve to have one meeting before they each go their separate ways.

If New Japan really is on a course to rivalling WWE in the future, the American audience deserves to know more about the world of Japanese pro-wrestling. It is characterised by a different set of criteria to the US version, with its 'strong style' in-ring action and its more coherent and structured approach to building up new stars and championship titles.

One of the key differences between Tanahashi and Cena can be found in the way to the two men are received by the fans. While Tanahashi's reception at shows like Wrestle Kingdom is more like what we would expect a company ace to get, Cena is consistently met with at least half the audience booing him out of the building.

This is because, for the most part, the Japanese audience is more willing to follow the traditional 'face/heel' dynamic and cheer for the guys they are supposed to cheer for. Whether this is a cultural difference between the two countries or a result of New Japan's writers being smarter in how they book their top talent, it is surely something Vince McMahon would like to see more of in his own product.

It's unlikely where or when these two could meet as it seems highly unlikely that Tanahashi will ever wrestle for the WWE or vice versa, but even if this never becomes a reality, there is more than enough there for fans to fantasise about.