Tony Khan Presents Hiroshi Tanahashi With Custom Guitar at Forbidden Door

In a touching backstage moment ahead of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, AEW CEO and GM Tony Khan presented NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi with a custom guitar as a tribute to his legendary career.

AEW’s official social media account shared the clip, giving fans a glimpse of the exchange between Khan and “The Ace.” The gesture was framed as a celebration of Tanahashi’s remarkable body of work in professional wrestling — a career that helped reshape New Japan Pro-Wrestling into a global force and made Tanahashi one of the most beloved figures the sport has ever produced.

Tanahashi is synonymous with NJPW’s modern era, having served as the company’s franchise player through much of the 2000s and 2010s before transitioning into his current role as promotion president. His connection to the guitar is well established among wrestling fans — he’s long incorporated the instrument into his entrance presentation, making Khan’s gift a particularly personal nod to who Tanahashi is both inside and outside the ring.

The moment underscores the goodwill between AEW and NJPW heading into Forbidden Door, the joint pay-per-view event that has brought the two promotions together for a marquee collaboration. With Tanahashi in attendance in his executive capacity, the custom guitar presentation added a memorable human element to what is already one of the bigger evenings on the pro wrestling calendar.