Kazuchika Okada is leaving NJPW … so let’s talk about it!
The wrestling world has been shaken by the news that Kazuchika Okada, one of the greatest performers in the history of NJPW, is leaving the promotion at the end of his contract. In an official statement made by New Japan Pro Wrestling, it was confirmed that The Rainmaker gave his notice to the company on Thursday evening that he wouldn’t be signing a new contract. This means that he will be out of contract at the end of January.
So much needs to be discussed when it comes to Okada’s departure, both in terms of the immediate future and the long-term plans of everyone involved … so let’s talk about it!
Changes to NJPW’s upcoming schedule:
Later on Friday, I will be giving my predictions and previewing the first part of NJPW’s New Beginning Tour that kicks off on Jan. 20 in Nagoya. However, due to the news of Okada’s departure, there have been a few changes to some of the upcoming cards.
As one-third of the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions, Kazuchika Okada was set to team up with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii to defend their titles against Shane Haste, Kosei Fujita and Mikey Nicholls of TMDK on Feb. 11 in Osaka. However, that match has now been moved to the Jan. 24 event in Korakuen Hall. This will also act as Okada’s final match for NJPW in Korakuen Hall.
When it comes to Feb. 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka, The Rainmaker will have one final match with Hiroshi Tanahashi. Their final one-on-one encounter will not only be an emotional one, but it will also take place in the same building where their legendary rivalry started 12 years ago.
Finally, Okada’s final appearances for New Japan will be at The New Beginning in Sapporo events on Feb. 23 and 24. No details on what he is doing on those shows have been announced at the time of writing, but with them being his final nights with the company, expect a lot of tears from fans, wrestlers and The Rainmaker himself at the end of the night.
Where could Kazuchika Okada go next?
Now that the news of his exit is public, everyone has asked the same question: where will he go next? Okada recently filed a trademark for “Rainmaker” in the United States, so it’s virtually a guarantee that he will be heading to America when he leaves Japan. With that, there are three possibilities: WWE, AEW, and TNA.
WWE:
I’ll get this out of the way first, he isn’t going to be at WWE’s Royal Rumble event on Jan. 27. He will still be under contract with New Japan, and given everything that I mentioned about NJPW‘s upcoming schedule, don’t expect to see him anywhere public until March at the earliest.
But that doesn’t mean he won’t go to WWE. World Wrestling Entertainment is a hot commodity right now, the company wants to bring in more outside talent, and they want to establish their main event scene as the best in the world.
Not only that, but this sort of thing has happened before. Shinsuke Nakamura, a man many thought would be an NJPW lifer, left the company in 2016 to join WWE and has been there ever since, as has AJ Styles. Both men have had solid careers in WWE, and given that they have taken the pressure off of their bodies while also being able to make a boatload of money has to be an option for Okada.
AEW:
Then there is AEW, a company that has a working relationship with New Japan. Tony Khan has already secured the signatures of Jay White, Katsuyori Shibata and Will Ospreay in the past 12 months, so it should be no surprise that Okada is on TK’s radar. AEW would take more of a physical toll on Okada than WWE, but the money is still there for him. Not only that but Khan has allowed a number of his international stars to remain in their home nations while being under contract, which could be a key factor in negotiations as keeping his family in Japan would be less of a strain on his personal life.#
TNA:
The third option is TNA, an outside choice for sure but a choice nonetheless. Okada never had a good relationship with TNA due to how they treated him in the late 2000s, but his recent appearance at their “Snake Eyes” event has shown that he would be willing to work with them, especially under the leadership of Scott D’Amore. TNA also has a working relationship with NJPW, and with Okada’s star power, TNA could be the company to make the biggest play for him as it would benefit them greatly, at least in the short term.
What’s next for NJPW?
We’ve already mentioned the changes to the immediate schedule, but long term, NJPW needs to change. Multiple stars aside from Okada are leaving the promotion which has created a void that needs requires attention. Will Ospreay and Tama Tonga won’t be with the company by the end of The New Beginning tour. Stars like Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tetsuya Naito, as popular as they are, only have a finite time left in their careers, and experiments with people like SANADA simply didn’t work in 2023.
NJPW has a crop of young stars that they are very confident with. Shota Umino, Ren Narita, Yota Tsuji, Yuya Uemura, Kosei Fujita and the Bullet Club War Dogs all have bright futures. However, New Japan needs to do something with them fast. The company can’t rely on the veterans to carry the load, they need to look at this group of young talent and understand that if they don’t put all their faith in them now, NJPW will go backward quicker than it will go forward.
The main reason why NJPW got as popular as it did during the 2010s is because the company put their stock in people like Okada. A young star who went over the face of the company in Tanahashi on his first try, forcing him to either sink or swim, and look where it’s got him, he’s the biggest name in Japan by a considerable margin as far as current wrestlers go. Have Tsuji dethrone Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for example. Why not?
Conclusion:
It’s going to be strange seeing Okada in another company on a full-time basis. He is a big reason why New Japan is as popular as it is today and to lose him will be a huge blow for them, and a huge get for whoever signs him. I’m not a betting man, so I won’t predict where he might end up, but big stars have left companies in the past–it’s all about how they recover from that.
Kazuchika Okada will be a name on everyone’s lips for the next few months. Whether he becomes All Elite, crosses the line with TNA or becomes WWE’s newest marquee signing, the world will be watching, let’s just hope it works out for the best.
Where do you think Kazuchika Okada will go next? Let us know in the comments section below! Don’t forget to follow myself and Vendetta Sports Media on all your favorite social media platforms.
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