When news broke that Kazuchika Okada was leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling to pursue a free agent contract in America for AEW, WWE, or maybe even TNA – though realistically AEW or WWE – it took plenty of fans by surprise.

A homegrown talent who has spent over a decade as one of the true stars of NJPW, Okada looked like the kind of star capable of leading the promotion into the future in these uncertain times, helping to weather the losses of some stars like Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tetsuya Naito as they approach the end of their careers and the exits of stars like Will Ospreay and Jay White who have opted to take their services to greener pastures, but now? Now he's just another performer Gedo and company built up only to benefit from that work elsewhere.

Discussing Okada's exit in an appearance on Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley, Kevin Kelly, the man who provided English commentary for the “Rainmaker's” matches from 2015-2023, noted that he was surprised to see the eight-time champion leave, at least to a degree, as New Japan is clearly in a transitionary period at the moment.

“Yes, I was. I was, and I wasn't. The business, now, is not what it was. A lot of it, people don't realize this, the value of the yen is extremely low. Everybody who wrestles in New Japan has gotten a 20 or 30 percent pay cut if they just got paid the same amount of money because the value of the yen is that much less. When you take your yen, and you want to go to America and buy things, it doesn't have the same value. Now, if you get paid in US dollars, it's like, ‘Woah.' That could be part of it. He may want to get paid in USD. Who knows how long he wants to wrestle stateside? It could be a couple or three years. I wasn't shocked because I heard rumblings that, some guys were, just financially, it was ‘Ehhh.' It affects the business. That's just the way things are. The economy hasn't bounced back, wrestling hasn't bounced back post-pandemic. They're getting good traction at live events, but not quite where it was,” Kevin Kelly explained via Fightful.

“I know he wasn't the biggest fan of Harold Meij. Harold Meij was gone. Nobody liked that guy. Everybody danced a jig when he left. I know how he felt then, but I have no idea how he felt about Ohbari or management in general. Obviously, Tanahashi coming aboard was not able to…. I don't know if he played a role. The announcement was made a couple of days ago, but was the die already cast? When did New Japan know and find out? That's what I want to know. How long has this been brewing? Who has been trying to talk him out of it, if anybody? What's the exit plan, and is there a return plan? These are the things we don't know.”

How much did these factors play into Okada's decision to leave NJPW? Did Okada have such a bad taste in his mouth from working with Meij that even the elevation of Tanahashi couldn't make things right? Or is the “Rainmaker” simply looking for a chance to make even more money so he can partake in his favorite activity? Either way, Kelly believes Tana needs to do a better job of addressing the situation externally, as this could be the “Bret screwed Bret” moment of NJPW.

Is Kazuchika Okada the Bret Hart of NJPW? Kevin Kelly thinks so.

Continuing his conversation with Jim Valley, Kevin Kelly discussed how the exit of Kazuchika Okada is an inflection point for NJPW and how, if the promotion wants to capitalize on it correctly, they can't just release a statement and hope he returns for Forbidden Door III. No, in the AEW Collision commentator's opinion, the best thing Hiroshi Tanahashi could do is take a page from Vince McMahon's playbook and publically address his exit a la the “Bret screwed Bret” interview after Bret Hart jumped to WCW.

“There was the vague statement from Tanahashi about ‘after the rain is a rainbow.' You're the President now, this is time for a statement,” Kevin Kelly said. “This is time for you explain, unless you're just a figurehead, this is time for you to explain what went into this, what went into the decision. This is Bret and Vince [Vince McMahon], but different. This is Vince needing to go on TV and explain what happened with Bret Hart. He needed to change the narrative. I think New Japan needs to change the narrative. A lot of people are looking at this like, ‘This is a New Japan screw-up.' I see it as an opportunity for them to change some things. This is where Tanahashi, as President, is in a tight spot. He needs to not speak in parables; he needs to give us facts and tell us what happened and when and why, and how we're going to move forward.”

Do you know what? That's actually a very good comparison, as Hart was one of the top guys in WWE for a very long time and left abruptly after a strange interaction fans didn't quite understand. If Tanahashi wants to capitalize on this situation and establish himself as an on-screen authority figure instead of just a fading “Ace,” this is the perfect chance to do just that.