Tanahashi, who is now 46 years old, has absolutely nothing left to prove inside a wrestling ring. Since beginning his career in New Japan Pro-Wrestling back in 1999, he’s won title after title — including the IWGP Heavyweight Championship eight times. But fans were never going to get the very best version of him this past Sunday. And, they only needed to look as far as his match with Swerve Strickland on “AEW Collision” one night prior.

“The years and years of tearing the house down, and having the best match of the night, and being ‘The Ace’ has caught up with him a little bit,” Bully continued. “So we can’t get that Tanahashi main event that we’ve all come to know and love.”

With him kicking off the show instead, AEW could take advantage of the years of goodwill he’s accumulated. That way, he didn’t have to worry about a potentially underwhelming reaction or the possibility of not living up to potentially lofty expectations. At the same time, however, Bully wasn’t about to take anything away from MJF.

“I thought they used the bells and whistles wisely,” Bully added. “They had a good enough match. It’s a credible win for Max, he can say he beat Tanahashi. That’s it. Smart move to put that match on first.”

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Busted Open” with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.