Kazuchika Okada Articles - Page 2

Heading into Forbidden Door II, one question rose above all others in the minds of AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling fans alike: who is the best wrestler in the world? Now granted, there are a lot of performers who could take legitimate ownership of that title, including Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega, who worked […]

After a year of anticipation – literally – Forbidden Door II is officially here, AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling fans. Soon fans will find out which belts will change hands, which matches will earn a five, or even greater star rating, and which matches could set up even bigger opportunities down the line, when […]

Claudio Castagnoli – then known as Cesaro – was a very friendly man during his run in WWE. A member of not one, not two, but three factions, working alongside Sheamus in the Bar, with Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger in the Real Americans – a funny faction for a man from Switzerland – and […]

Who is Bronson Reed? Is he a more-or-less one-for-one copy of the man born Jermaine Haley? A persona designed by creative to elicit crowd reactions? Or something in between? Sitting down for an interview with Ryan Satin on Out of Character, Reed compared his character to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, in that both men took […]

Though it hasn’t yet been a year since Bronson Reed jumped ship from New Japan Pro Wrestling to bring his unique brand of big-bodied brutality to the WWE Universe, it’s hard to argue with his on-screen production. Sure, technically, Reed began his career in a weird way, playing the role of “heater” for The Miz […]

Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada is a main event-caliber match. You put that match on 100 cards – especially in NJPW – and it’s worthy of the final spot 99 times easy. Unfortunately, Wrestle Kingdom 17 was that rare exception, as the duo were booked to follow up Kenny Omega’s return to NJPW after four years of […]

A lot has been said about the co-main events of Wrestle Kingdom 17, especially by (most) of their participants, Jay White, Kenny Omega, and Will Ospreay. White has blamed his opponent for running Jonah out of the promotion, Omega has called Ospreay an unintelligent hot head, and “The Commonwealth Kingpin” has called “The Cleaner” the […]

Jay White has a bone to pick with Kazuchika Okada ahead of their match at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 17. Two of the highest-profile performers working outside of “The Big 2,” WWE and AEW, today, White and Okada held the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for 361 of 2022’s 365 calendar days, with the […]

There was a time when Jonah looked primed to become one of the biggest foreign stars in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He was booked very well in both Impact and NJPW Strong, where he’d frequently “send ’em (his opponents) to the morgue” like his theme song suggests, both as a singles performer and as part […]

Tony Khan and AEW are in full-throttle hyping up the upcoming collaborative Pay-Per-View Forbidden Door, even despite an absolute ton of speed bumps along the way. Between an absolute truckload of injuries both new – see Tomohiro Ishii bowing out of the All-Atlantic Championship four-way – and old – see Kenny Omega, who made it […]

Despite his best efforts, “Hangman” Adam Page just couldn’t get himself a singles match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at AEW‘s Forbidden Door. He tried asking for a match versus Kazuchika Okada, then asked for one against Jay White, who beat “The Rainmaker” for the belt at NJPW Dominion, and even after taking a […]