When it comes to professional wrestling, Bryan Danielson has pretty much done it all.

He wrestled all over the world, put Ring Of Honor on the map, and went on to have an all-time great run in WWE largely fueled by the passion of the fans, headlining WrestleMania twice, earning a custom hemp championship belt, and meeting his wife, who herself is a pretty incredible wrestling personality too.

And yet, if there's one thing Danielson was never able to do, it was becoming a star in New Japan Pro Wrestling, a promotion he wrestled for 112 times over his professional wrestling career but hasn't worked a match for – excluding Forbidden Door II – since 2004.

Fortunately for the “American Dragon,” that's all going to change in a matter of hours, as Danielson is set for a star-studded rematch with Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 18, where the duo will all but certainly deliver the match of the night in the middle of the Tokyo Dome. Talking shop opposite the “Rainmaker” at the Wrestle Kingdom 18 press conference, Danielson let it be known that, while he's wrestled pretty much everywhere and everyone a performer could imagine as a pro, he's beyond excited to wrestle Okada on the biggest stage in Japan.

“I just want to say how grateful I am to be here in Japan, especially New Japan. It's been almost 20 years since my last tour of New Japan,” Bryan Danielson said via Fightful. “To be here now, at the Tokyo Dome… when I started professional wrestling, what I really wanted more so than main eventing WrestleMania in WWE, which I did twice, more so than anything, I wanted to be a star in New Japan Pro Wrestling. 20 years after my last tour, I get to wrestle Okada in the Tokyo Dome for Wrestle Kingdom.”

Will Bryan Danielson pull it out in the end and go up 2-0 on Okada and earning arguably the best 1-2 win of his professional wrestling career? Or will Okada get his win back and set things up for a rubber match at either Forbidden Door III or maybe even All In 2024? Fans will have to tune into Wrestle Kingdom 18 to find out, but it's safe to say Okada isn't willing to go down without a fight.

Bryan Danielson should expect a serious fight from Kazuchika Okada.

Speaking of Kazuchika Okada, he sat down for an interview with New Japan Pro Wrestling for an interview before Wrestle Kingdom 18 and let it be known that he's excited to wrestle Bryan Danielson once more, as he's out for revenge following his loss at Forbidden Door II.

“I wanted to challenge him, so he helped me out. It's a chance for revenge,” Kazuchika Okada said via Fightful. “There have been no preview matches, so it’s a bit tough to hype up, and maybe fans feel the same. But when you feel the atmosphere on the entrances, then you’ll know what a big deal this match is, and that’s when I’ll be pumped up as well. I lost against one of the best in the world, that makes NJPW look bad and all of Japan look bad. So, I need to get revenge for that. I know he broke his arm and fractured his orbital, but I lost to him. Tapped out. Last time, he had the home promotion advantage, now, it’s my home. So it seems only right I get the win back.”

Asked if he's aware of Danielson's comments about breaking his arm in revenge for Forbidden Door II, which forced the “American Dragon” to miss All In 2023, Okada told him to go ahead and try it, as he can still hit his signature move, the Rainmaker with a broken arm.

“He should go ahead and try to do it,” Okada boasted. “I can dropkick on a broken leg, Rainmaker with a broken arm. If he thinks he can do it, I want him to try.”

Dang, talk about a bad you-know-what way to say mess around and find out.

When Okada broke Danielson's arm in the co-main event of Full Gear II, it created a special place in professional wrestling history that will live in AEW and New Japan Professional Wrestling forever, as it changed the direction of both promotions and put the two sides onto the path to Wrestle Kingdom 18. And the best part? Because this is only match two of this modern-day series, fans can almost guarantee there will be a third match before either man calls it a career… assuming, of course, one isn't left so injured that they have to call it a career right on the spot.