Wrestling star Kazuchika Okada has officially found a new home in AEW. Okada was the hottest free agent in wrestling and no one knew where he would end up, but now he is officially #AllElite. Rumors stated that WWE was very interested in signing him. He was also rumored to be the reason why WWE was pushing Shinsuke Nakamura a while ago, proving that the company was capable of using a Japanese star correctly. That can also recently be seen with Damage CTRL’s Iyo Sky, the reigning WWE Women’s Champion, and The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane), who are the reigning WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
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However, AEW ultimately signed “The Rainmaker.” The Young Bucks were the ones to make the huge announcement last night on AEW’s Dynamite program, which aired live on TBS. Being the company’s Executive Vice Presidents, both in real life and with their onscreen characters, it was their responsibility to announce the suspension of Hangman Adam Page after he assaulted AEW officials. However, in an even more difficult decision, they were forced to fire their oldest friend Kenny Omega for missing dates. Maybe someone should clue them in that he is injured as he recovers from diverticulitis.
KAZUCHIKA OKADA IS THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ELITE
The Young Bucks were interrupted by Eddie Kingston and the interaction got physical. Eventually, The Young Bucks got Kingston on his knees and were about to do a Superkick Party on his face when Kazuchika Okada made his debut. He ran to the ring to save Kingston from the attack, but he instead performed his signature move, The Rainmaker, on Kingston, cementing his alliance with The Young Bucks.
Kazuchika Okada officially joined AEW and The Elite at that moment. This is not the first time the AEW fans have seen Okada in AEW. He wrestled at both AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door events. First wrestling in a Fatal Four-Way match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against champion Jay White, “Hangman” Adam Page, and Adam Cole.
The following year, he wrestled Bryan Danielson in a losing effort at the second Forbidden Door event. He has wrestled in AEW three times and lost all three. However, Okada is back in AEW on a more permanent basis now that he’s been signed.
For fans unfamiliar with Kazuchika Okada, they are in for a real treat. He is considered one of the best wrestlers in the world. He made his name in NJPW and was a continuous part of the promotion from 2010 to last February before he made his debut as a member of the AEW roster. He has held the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship twice and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship five times. He is also the longest reigning IWGP Heavyweight champion ever, with the most combined title defenses and time as champion. His list of accomplishments in NJPW is enormous.
Okada is probably most well-known to Western wrestling fans because of his matches against Kenny Omega. Their matches broke Dave Meltzer’s match rating system. They had the first match to ever get over five stars. Okada finished up his obligations with NJPW in late February. His last appearance was at The New Beginning In Sapporo where he and the CHAOS team defeated the United Empire.
AEW Making Huge Deals With New Signings
AEW has been doing very well with their huge signings from NJPW lately. They just signed Will Ospreay and next Wednesday at AEW Big Business it is heavily rumored that Mercedes Moné will make her big AEW debut.
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Okada will open up a huge list of dream matches happening. He brings a lot of excitement with him to AEW. It is too early to see how AEW will use him and having him immediately align himself with the heel EVP tag team (The Young Bucks) is an interesting choice as he received a huge babyface reaction when he walked down the ramp.
What do you think of Kazuchika Okada joining AEW? Was joining AEW the right choice or would you have liked to see him join WWE? What do you think about him joining as a heel? Do you think aligning him with the EVPs was the right pairing? Since he attacked Eddie Kingston do you think he should be Okada’s first feud? Let us know on social media who you want to see Okada feud with on the AEW roster.Â
SOURCE: AEW
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