The Rainmaker’s future seems to lie away from New Japan Pro Wrestling.
For many people, Kazuchika Okada is the first name that comes to mind when thinking of New Japan Pro Wrestling. However, in December, it was first reported that The Rainmaker was set to become a free agent in 2024, as his current contract was revealed to have an expiry date around the end of January. Interestingly, while most would be quick to dismiss this, the original Sports Illustrated article did mention that the now 36-year-old was ‘seriously entertaining’ the idea of wrestling elsewhere.
Now, it does indeed appear as if Kazuchika Okada’s time with New Japan Pro Wrestling is nearing its end, as the company have today released a statement to confirm that the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion will be leaving the company upon expiry of his current deal.
“Kazuchika Okada will be leaving New Japan Pro-Wrestling after the conclusion of his contract on January 31 2024.”
-New Japan Pro Wrestling
Changes have subsequently been made to upcoming match cards which have seen a planned defence of the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Championships at NJPW New Beginning in Osaka be rescheduled to a different date and a one-on-one encounter between Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi pencilled in for one final time for February 11 instead.
As for his future, it’s likely that both AEW and WWE will be in the race for Okada going forward. It’s believed that WWE have held interest in the past, while the star has made sporadic appearances on All Elite Wrestling Dynamite over the last two years.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Kazuchika Okada and his wrestling future as soon as we hear more.
