Kazuchika Okada is once again at the top of NJPW, reigning as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
Okada is regarded as one of, if not the, best professional wrestlers in the world today, and that is in no small part thanks to his legendary series of bouts with AEW star Kenny Omega.
The pair have faced off against eachother one-on-one four times now, each match breaking Dave Meltzer’s rating system, with their initial bout at Wrestling Kingdom 11 serving as the catalyst for unprecedented Western interest in the promotion.
With the announcement of the joint PPV ‘Forbidden Door’ between AEW and NJPW, many have questioned whether we may see the two modern day greats run it back in Chicago this June. Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Okada questioned whether another match between the pair was necessary, although he refused to rule out a possible rematch should it make sense.
“Is there still unfinished business there I’ve already wrestled a lot of great opponents. It was an honor for me last month to team with Tatsumi Fujinami and wrestle against a legend like Yoshiaki Fujiwara. There are a lot of truly great professional wrestlers out there and a lot of possible dream matches. If running me and Kenny back really is a dream match, well then that’s definitely a direction to take.”
-Kazuchika Okada
Two AEW names that certainly are on The Rainmaker’s radar are Bryan Danielson and CM Punk. Okada has made no secret of his desire to face off against both men whilst they are still actively competing. Whilst Okada gives no hints regarding his planned opponent for the crossover event, he remains confident that he’ll have the chance to face both Danielson and Punk in the future.
“Forbidden Door with AEW has just been announced, and all the fans are predicting various matches. I believe the day will come when I wrestle CM Punk and Bryan Danielson.”
-Kazuchika Okada
Looking at the immediate future, Okada has an upcoming IWGP World Heavyweight Title defence against Los Ingobernables de Japon leader Tetsuya Naito. As opposed to Okada, Naito has expressed a lack of interest in facing anyone from AEW, and believes that the challengers will instead line up to face him.
Whether we see Okada VS Omega one more time, or we a dream match with either Bryan Danielson or CM Punk, Kazuchika Okada is certain to leave his mark on ‘Forbidden Door’.
