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Speculation is heating up over a potential dream match between Shinsuke Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi at the 2026 Tokyo Dome show—but nothing is official just yet.

During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer addressed the buzz after Nakamura teased Tanahashi mannerisms during WWEâ€s recent tour of Japan. That sparked speculation that a major WWE vs NJPW crossover match could be in the works. But despite how real the chatter sounds, Meltzer poured cold water on assumptions. He explained that although the idea is floating around, itâ€s far from confirmed.

“Thereâ€s been a lot, a lot, a lot of talk about Tanahashi and Nakamura at the Tokyo Dome show. And I would just say—itâ€s not a done deal right now.â€

Nakamuraâ€s current WWE contract reportedly includes a clause allowing him to wrestle in Japan, which would open the door for the match. Still, Meltzer pointed out that the political situation is tricky, since NJPW has a strong working relationship with AEW.

“Itâ€s a weird political thing because obviously, New Japan and AEW work very closely together, and Nakamura is a WWE guy. They havenâ€t had a WWE guy really do anything [with NJPW] except for Karl Anderson, and that was very complicated.â€

Despite that, Meltzer believes this might be one situation where personal respect and legacy could win out over business competition. And it all comes down to what Tanahashi wants.

“My gut is, even though WWE and AEW are feuding… if Tanahashi wants to retire against Nakamura and they can pull it off, I think that should be okay.â€

If the match happens, it could be one of the most meaningful swan songs in Tanahashiâ€s legendary career. But with no deal in place, fans will have to wait and see if this dream bout turns into reality.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.

Do you want to see Tanahashi face Nakamura one last time at the Tokyo Dome? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.

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The best kicker is college football is Hawaii’s Kansei Matsuzawa, who learned his craft in part by studying YouTube videos.

“The Tokyo Toe” has made all 19 of his field goal attempts and all 19 of his extra points. Not only is he perfect, but Matsuzawa leads college football in made field goals by five over the next-closest kickers, Houston’s Ethan Sanchez and Eastern Michigan’s Rudy Kessinger.

Matsuzawa isn’t just making chip shots, either. He’s hit all seven of his attempts from 40-49 yards and even hit a long this year of 52 against Fresno State.

In addition, Matsuzawa has come through in the clutch numerous times. In the team’s 23-20 season-opening win against Stanford, Matsuzawa hit two field goals in the final 2:01, including a 38-yarder with no time remaining.

The 26-year-old Matsuzawa was born in Ichikawa, Japan. He went to Makuhari Sogo High School in Chiba, Japan and was a soccer star, serving as team captain.

Matsuzawa graduated high school in 2017. He had designs on playing soccer in college in Japan, but he did not pass his entrance exams. That led to a different path, which Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times.

“I used to play soccer in Japan until high school,” Matsuzawa said. “I was going to college to play soccer, but I failed the exam to get into college.”

“I had nothing for two years, and I didn’t like my life,” Matsuzawa added. “I grew up playing soccer, but I was kind of forced to stop. Then my dad gave me plane tickets to the West Coast of America. I did the trip alone, for like two weeks, and I watched my first football game over there.”

That was a preseason matchup between the then-Oakland Raiders and Los Angeles Rams in Aug. 2019, won by the Silver and Black, 14-3.

From then on, Matsuzawa decided on a new path.

“Then, I went home and took a few months, and football was still stuck in my head. I was like, ‘Oh, I think I want to be an NFL player.'”

So Matsuzawa took to YouTube to help learn kicking. His main inspiration was Jason Myers of the Seattle Seahawks, per comments to CNN Sports.

“It was one of the best moments in my life. D1 football in America and Japanese kid has big dream,” the young placekicker told CNN Sports (h/t Patrick Snell of CNN International). “In the beginning, when I was in Japan, I had no coaches. So, I feel like I have to do it myself.

“I used YouTube first. I was looking for an NFL player on YouTube. I would say (Seattle) Seahawks kicker Jason Myers. I’ve never met him before, but he actually texted me on Instagram after getting the winning field goal and that was amazing. I try to imitate the best of the best and that’s how I started.”

In 2021, Matsuzawa arrived in the United States, kicking for Hocking College, a community college in Nelsonville, Ohio. Along his incredible journey, Matsuzawa even cut his own hair to save money during his time in school, per Christian Shimabuku of Aloha State Daily. He also was just learning English at the time.

In 2022, Matsuzawa made 12-of-17 on field goals, including a 50-yarder.

In 2023, Matsuzawa transferred to Hawaii. One year later, he became the team’s kicker, making 12-of-16 field goals and all 32 of his PAT.

Now he’s been tremendous in 2025, and he’s helped Hawaii to a 5-2 record. Fans got to know him a little bit before the season when he was mic’d up during a preseason practice.

The team’s five-win total matches Hawaii’s victory mark from last year. A few of his games will ever be streamed in Japan.

Matsuzawa’s efforts led him to being named a Week 1 star from the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the bestcollege football placekicker by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. He’s also been Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week four times this year already.

Matsuzawa has already embarked on an incredible and inspiring journey, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if this keeps going, perhaps with the Lou Groza Award for the year and/or even a spot in the pros someday.

For now, Hawaii is looking to move to 6-2 (and 3-1 in the Mountain West) with a victory at Colorado State. Gametime is set for 7 p.m. ET on Saturday.

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Kebinatshipi underlined his talents when he ran a personal best – and a world lead time – of 43.61s in the semi-finals.

His compatriots Lee Bhekempilo Eppi and Bayapo Ndori also made it through to the 400m final, but Kebinatshipi was comfortable knowing that the attention would be on him.

“Coming [in] to the final, everyone knew that I was the favourite,” he said.

“I didn’t want to disappoint my coach. I didn’t want to change any race plans that I used on the semis.

“I applied the same strategy and I knew if I do the same thing I did on the semis, I’m going to get a gold.”

And, after sealing top spot on the podium, Kebinatshipi celebrated with push-ups inside a soggy National Stadium to pay homage to compatriot Isaac Makwala, who was part of the Botswana relay team which won 4x400m bronze at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Makwala famously first performed push-ups on a rainy track to prove his fitness after having to compete solo in the 200m heats at the 2017 World Championships, having controversially been denied his place in the 400m final after a norovirus outbreak in London.

“Honestly, I was really exhausted but I kept my promise to my role model Isaac,” said Kebinatshipi.

“I told him ‘If I win this race, I’m going to dedicate this celebration to you’ because he used to do the celebration during his time.

“The little energy that was left, I used it for the push-ups.”

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After consoling his opponent and embracing his team at the end of another successful week on the tour, Carlos Alcaraz had just one thought on his mind. He immediately sought out a pair of scissors to finally remove the extensive bandage wrapped tightly around his left ankle.

Having started his week in Tokyo by rolling his ankle and being unsure about whether he would continue, Alcaraz, the ATP No 1, ended it with his eighth title of the season as he overcame a spirited fight from a physically hampered Taylor Fritz to triumph at the Japan Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win.

Throughout the first few years of his career, even as he continued to win the biggest titles at a faster rate than almost any other male player in history, Alcarazâ€s relative inconsistency had been a dominant narrative surrounding his career. He has addressed those criticisms by putting together one of the greatest seasons of the past decade, one that has re-established him as the best player in the world.

Alcaraz has now reached nine consecutive finals, winning seven titles across all three surfaces and establishing a 66-6 (92%) record at individual events this year. At just 22 years old, the five-time grand slam champion and world No 1 has now won 24 ATP titles.

The past week has been particularly challenging. Four games into his first-round match against Sebastian Baez, Alcaraz rolled his left ankle. As he tried to play through pain and find a way through that match, Alcaraz was unsure whether he would be able to continue. Although Alcaraz played the rest of the tournament with his ankle heavily taped, he moved with increasing freedom in each match.

During his victory speech, Alcaraz thanked his physio Juanjo Moreno for his work during the week: “Starting the week not really good, with the ankle, and the way that I came back from that playing such a great tournament, great matches, Iâ€m just really happy about it,†he said.

Fritz, the No 4 and second seed, entered this final with ample reason to believe he could win after convincingly beating the Spaniard for the first time last week in the Laver Cup, where the American played some of the best tennis of his career and led Team World to victory. With an individual title on the line, however, Alcaraz was clearly performing at a much higher level from the beginning.

Although Fritz opened the match using his destructive first serve well, playing confident attacking tennis and working through his early service games, Alcaraz gradually took control of the baseline exchanges. He dominated with his forehand, currently the biggest weapon on the tour, he exposed the Americanâ€s average movement with his drop shots and he absorbed Fritzâ€s first strike with his own spectacular movement.

Carlos Alcaraz returns a shot against Taylor Fritz during the Japan Open final. Photograph: Rodrigo Reyes Marin/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

After conceding his first service game right at the end of the first set, Fritz called for the trainer and he received a medical timeout for his left thigh. He was clearly struggling with his movement throughout the second set and he was unable to push off his left leg when dragged out into the corners. Even at full health, defeating Alcaraz in his current form is a monumental challenge. Here it was simply too much.

Still, Fritz bravely continued to fight and, not for the first time in his career, Alcaraz began to lose his focus against his hampered opponent. From 5-1 in the second set, Alcaraz instead found himself desperately trying to hold on at 5-4, 15-30. He demonstrated his confidence in the final moments by regaining his composure precisely when he needed it, striking three consecutive drop shot winners from 15-30 down to close out yet another win.

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Rai Benjaminâ€s post-victory mood was as light as his crown. Soon, for a few fraught minutes, heavy was the head that wore the costume headgear. (KIRBY LEE/IMAGE OF SPORT)

EVERY ATHLETE at some point experiences both the thrill of victory and agony of defeat. But theyâ€re not supposed to feel both in the same race.

Rai Benjamin ran a (mostly) masterful race in Tokyo to claim his first world championship. Like at the Paris Olympics, he turned back his friendly nemesis, Karsten Warholm, and clocked 46.52, the =No. 9 all-time performance. He donned a golden toy crown and began his celebration.

Then things went south. He was informed that he had been disqualified. The only flaw in his race had been a hard hit on hurdle 10, which slightly dislodged the barrier in the adjacent lane, occupied by Nigeriaâ€s Nathaniel Ezekiel.

For 15 uncertain minutes, Benjamin went through a ringer of emotions. However, quick action by USATF got the DQ overturned, and he could keep the crown on his head and place the gold medal around his neck.

“I won, and then I didnâ€t win, and then I won again, so I won twice tonight,†laughed a relieved Benjamin.

“Whatâ€s a World Championship without a little drama?†he asked rhetorically. “So, ironically, weâ€re [sitting] in the elimination chairs and [Qatarâ€s 3rd-placer Abderrahmane] Samba goes like, ‘Where are our medals?†And [Brazilâ€s 2nd-placer Alison] dos Santos was like, ‘I think thereâ€s been a DQ.†And I was like, ‘Oh, damn, who got the DQ?†And he goes, ‘I think it might be you.†And I was like, ‘What?!â€â€

In the stomach-churning roller coaster of the moment, Benjamin had to dig down and find the same kind of discipline he puts into his training.

“I still had [the crown] on, and I took it off. And then I was like, ‘Man, get that camera out of my face.â€

“But then I was like, ‘You gotta chill,†because Iâ€m not out here just representing myself, Iâ€m representing the entire United States and my family and this whole team, so I just had to keep my emotions in check and just really figure out what was going on. Thereâ€s nothing much I could do at that point but just wait for the officials. Obviously, it really sucked to lose that way in a DQ after running 10 hurdles, but Iâ€m happy that I was able to show some restraint down there and some self-control.â€

Difficulty maintaining control was what got him into the predicament. Benjamin admitted the clattering of the hurdle caught him by surprise.

“It wasnâ€t intentional, obviously, but thatâ€s on me. I should be clean over 10. I never, ever have that kind of a mishap coming home.

“Usually, I donâ€t really get a lot of lactic, but I was just so fast through hurdle 8 and 9. My body hasnâ€t been in that zone before, so itâ€s only natural that it goes through that whole process, but I was happy that I put enough daylight between me and everyone else so that I was able to recover from that mistake.â€

Recovering from mistakes sums up the whole shift his career has taken in the past two seasons.

From â€19 through â€23, Benjamin developed the reputation as the silver man, mostly to Warholm. The last time he was on this track, the â€21 Olympics, he was fit enough to run a stunning 46.17, which would have obliterated Warholmâ€s WR — except Warholm was faster. Even when Warholm was off his game in Eugene in â€22, dos Santos stepped up to block Benjamin from the top of the podium. In Budapest, he fell to bronze.

He could have been frozen by frustration. Instead, like the heroine of the movie Frozen, he decided to just let it go.

“I think my whole mentality shifted after â€23,†Benjamin says. “Going into Paris, I just stopped putting so much pressure on myself and focused on having fun and enjoying the sport, because I canâ€t do this for a long time. So the mentality was to just come out, have fun, and the same thing here. Itâ€s just been great, man. Iâ€ve been having fun and being loose and just enjoying every step of the way and not really taking myself too seriously here.â€

Next year, he plans to have even more fun.

“This is the most I raced all year, actually in my career. I wonâ€t ever do that again, because it was tough going to the USAs. Going to the Pre and USAs, like I was dealing with some quad issues from â€23, so I was able to quell that and come back and get some good work in and be able to come out here and win. It was just great.

“So I wonâ€t be racing too much next year, but I told Noah [Lyles], ‘You better watch out, because I am running the 2 next year. And the 4. No hurdles.â€â€ Surely, there are intriguing possibilities for updates to his 200 and 400 bests, 19.99 dating back to the Paris DL of â€18 and 44.21 from April of â€23. He anchored the Olympic Record USA relay victory in Paris in 43.18.

Is he going to try a Sydney?

“Sydney McLaughlin is the GOAT, man,†he laughed. “I canâ€t. But like I said, Iâ€m going to run the 2 and 4 next year and have some fun and shake things up.â€

Since 1986, Lee Nichols has been the Rockdale (Texas) High School record holder in the mile and 2-miles. He followed those feats with a brief and highly undistinguished tenure with the Texas Longhorns. He has been writing for Track & Field News since 2004. When he’s not writing about track, he’s either writing about or drinking craft beer and watching Tottenham Hotspur play soccer.

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Kenya is toasting a golden generation of female track stars after they led the nation to second place in the medal table behind the United States at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.

Female runners won six of the East African nation’s seven gold medals in Tokyo, sweeping top spot on the podium in every event from 800m up to the marathon.

That remarkable run of victories culminated in a stunning upset as Lilian Odira won the 800m on Sunday, shattering her personal best by nearly two seconds as well as a 42-year-old championship record in the process.

What makes the feat even more impressive is that Odira, 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon and marathon winner Peres Jepchirchir are all mothers.

Indeed, Odira, 26, spent several years away from the track to start her family, with two boys now aged four and two, before returning to competition in 2023.

“That just [shows] that even when you are a mother you can still rule the world,” former world 800m champion Janeth Jepkosgei told Newsday on the BBC World Service.

“It doesn’t stop you.

“That’s being a role model to the young ones. This is a way of showing also the African girl, with our culture, that you can also challenge even when you have a baby.”

Jepkosgei, who also won an Olympic silver at Beijing 2008, says these performances demonstrate a cultural shift in Kenyan athletics, and within the country itself.

“During our time, when someone gets married or have a baby, the career ends,” she added.

“And sometimes, with our culture, we were losing a lot of talents. But this now shows how far we can [go].

“We can change our societies, we can change our communities, we can change our culture.”

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Next year, they will compete in Budapest as World Athletics hosts its three-day Ultimate Championships featuring world champions, Diamond League winners and the top performers of 2026 – and which offers a $10m (£7.5m) prize pot.

Earlier this year, the inaugural season of Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track – which excluded field events – ended with the final leg being cancelled because of financial concerns and its future appears in doubt with some athletes still yet to receive money.

Coe said World Athletics intend to use the Ultimate Championship to test ideas which could later become part of the sport’s established major stages.

“We’ve got a four-year cycle and one of those years we don’t get the billion eyeballs on our sport. As a global sport we can’t afford that,” said Coe.

“We thought about what we can do that is different and can be an incubator for change, where we can introduce and test things and maybe they turn up here in a World Championship.

“I think it will be it’ll be a great addition but there is a lot more work to do.”

Sporting icon Bolt, winner of eight Olympic gold medals, told BBC Sport he believes the Ultimate Championships is a “good start” as the sport seeks to grow.

“The sport needs to evolve and I feel like track and field is moving in the right direction,” Bolt said.

“Track and field is probably one of the poorest sports and it’s one of the biggest sports, so the incentive is very big and I’m happy for the athletes because they deserve it.”

Regarding the high level of performances witnessed in Tokyo, and increasing standards overall, Coe pinpointed technological advances in the synthetic track surface, the shoes worn by the athletes, and improving coaching skills and methods.

Coe said: “Some of the performances we’ve seen here are simply jaw-dropping.

“The lovely thing about it is that the sport is moving ahead both as track and field in pretty much the same progress.”

He added: “There’s never enough prize money for the athletes, we always want more. Where possible, we want the athletes to benefit from the proceeds of growth.”

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