The rumor mill is on high alert now that Kazuchika Okada has officially departed from New Japan Pro Wrestling, but we don’t yet know where the former NJPW cornerstone will land. There’s certainly a very real chance he’ll go to AEW, and he wouldn’t be the first NJPW star to make that decision.
On the other hand, there’s an equally likely reality where he might wind up in WWE. As much as that would’ve seemed truly impossible just a few months or years ago, Kazuchika Okada is free to sign where he pleases after January 31, 2024. If WWE is his landing spot, how do they handle one of the greatest wrestlers of all time?
Kazuchika Okada in NXT would be a mistake
There have already been reports circulating about what might happen if Kazuchika Okada arrives in WWE. We know that a Royal Rumble appearance is almost certainly off the table, as his contract expires a few days too late for that opportunity to come together.
Rumors of Kazuchika Okada going to WWE and starting in NXT took off thanks to a report from Monthly Puroresu, but it was one that received almost immediate pushback. Fightful Select reported that WWE and NXT staff weren’t aware of anything in motion, and a recent post from Ultimo Dragon indicated Okada himself wasn’t sure of his plans as recently as the day before NJPW announced the news of his departure on January 19, 2024.
Just about every single fan who has even the slightest understanding of Kazuchika Okada’s impact on the industry knows that having him debut in NXT would be a mistake. Some may note that Shinsuke Nakamura came to WWE that way, but that situation was drastically different.
NXT in 2016 was not the NXT of 2024 by a longshot. While NXT was originally built as a developmental brand in 2012, something it has gone back to embracing in 2024, the entire brand was beginning to break away from that developmental feel as it started to feel like a true alternative to what the main roster product in WWE was providing.
WWE in 2016 was a far cry from what it is today, and that year had an NXT with “The Demon” Finn Balor at the top feuding with Samoa Joe. Asuka was starting a dominant undefeated streak, and Sami Zayn was holding down the fort after Kevin Owens had moved to the main roster.
NXT in 2016 was more akin to AEW today than modern NXT, and that meant having Shinsuke Nakamura debut in NXT made perfect sense. If Kazuchika Okada is going to WWE, the similarity to Nakamura’s debut shouldn’t be NXT.
How should WWE handle Kazuchika Okada’s debut?
To create a memorable debut for “The Rainmaker” in WWE, they need to communicate his presence immediately. WWE could try to do this with video packages, but being unable to use NJPW or AEW footage makes their ability to highlight his skills extremely limited.
One good thing is that they’ve recently shown a willingness to allow wrestlers to cut promos in their native language and simply add subtitles. It’s a decision that’s giving Shinsuke Nakamura some of his best moments in years, and they could easily do introductory promos with Okada telling some of his own story this way.
If they hope to recreate some of the success that Nakamura’s WWE debut captured, one thing that did right was letting him simply challenge Sami Zayn. Every single NXT fan saw Nakamura appear on the screen, lost their minds, and immediately sold to anyone who didn’t know The King of Strong Style that an instant classic was on the way at NXT TakeOver: Dallas.
WWE has two major shows coming up that could absolutely qualify. The first would be Elimination Chamber: Perth. While Elimination Chamber might not seem like the stage some fans would hope for on paper, this is an event taking place at Optus Stadium in Perth, Western Australia.
With a total capacity at 60,000+ fans, there will be as engaged an audience as you could hope for. Perhaps more importantly, that’s a crowd familiar with New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Australian fans are closer in time zone and distance to Japan, and NJPW did a four-day tour there back in 2018 that was headlined by Kazuchika Okada.
Another man on that same tour was Cody Rhodes, and he provides another cue for how WWE might need to approach Okada’s debut. While they could certainly build anticipation for a debut by having him challenge someone outright, they could also choose to let it be the worst kept secret in the world and not announce the match at all.
Everyone knew Cody Rhodes was coming to WWE in early 2022. The writing was on the walls and reports continued to roll in, so WWE chose to instead let Seth Rollins have a surprise opponent. By refusing to acknowledge it, they only amplified the response Cody Rhodes received from a live crowd at WrestleMania 38 that was dying to see “The American Nightmare” in WWE.
Whether it’s at Elimination Chamber: Perth or something they decide to save for WrestleMania 40, WWE absolutely wouldn’t go wrong by making Okada a surprise challenger for someone at either event. There are several superstars in WWE who could have amazing matches with Okada and hopefully will should he go there, but only one man is the perfect debut.
Shinsuke Nakamura, the man we’ve already been talking about, has more history with Kazuchika Okada than most in the industry. They were hand in hand for the rise of NJPW in the 2010s, and much of that included them being on the same side as part of NJPW faction CHAOS.
Kazuchika Okada and Shinsuke Nakamura have shared a ring in NJPW no less than 170 times in their careers, but they’ve only had six singles matches. Nakamura has won five of those six with the only loss being when Okada defeated him in the G1 Climax 2014 Final.
Whether it’s done as a surprise opponent or Shinsuke Nakamura makes an open challenge, no opponent could do more to communicate to WWE fans what Kazuchika Okada is capable of. Elimination Chamber: Perth, WrestleMania 40, SummerSlam if he wants to take a vacation, just put that man in a ring with The King of Strong Style. They’ll do the rest.
