One Big Question Looms Over Kazuchika Okada’s Return to the U.S.

His match in Washington, D.C., next month will be his first on U.S. soil since November. But will he still be champion?

Kazuchika Okada is coming to America.

Whether he brings the IWGP world heavyweight championship with him will be decided on Sunday in a title match against Tetsuya Naito.

Unquestionably, Okada is the face of New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Yet a multitude of questions still surround Okada’s trip to the United States. His opponent for Capital Collision on May 14 has yet to be announced. And with the Forbidden Door pay-per-view a month later, there is also the possibility that Okada will make his AEW debut in just a couple of weeks on Dynamite.

“Never say never,” Okada says through a translator. “I’m always happy for more people to know about New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Kazuchika Okada.”

There is the potential for Okada to defend New Japan’s top title in consecutive months in the U.S., which would be a thrill for fans who are rarely treated to his brilliance. Okada is also excited for the return visit. His match at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C., will be his first time wrestling in the U.S. since November, when he defeated Buddy Matthews at Battle in the Valley in San Jose.

“Is there an In-N-Out Burger in D.C.?” asks Okada, who found a culinary treat at the famed burger joint during a trip to San Francisco. “I really enjoy the chance to walk around the city. America is big, and the atmosphere is vastly different for each city. The more you experience, the more you touch and see and feel, the more you grow as a human being.”

Okada headlines Wrestling Dontaku this Sunday in Fukuoka, Japan, where he will square off against Naito. After splitting two matches over the past two months, this one will help create a significant degree of separation for the winner.

“This is our third match this year,” Okada says. “Some people might be saying ‘Again?’, but that’s the level of competition there is between us. When you have two of the very best tied at one win apiece, you have to settle things.

“Professional wrestling fans all over the world tune in expecting greatness. This will be one worth remembering.”

Vanquishing every opponent is Okada’s goal as he seeks to become the most famed NJPW champion of all-time, not to mention the greatest champion in all of wrestling. To do that, he will also have to settle another score—with his rival Kenny Omega.

Okada and Omega met in their first singles match at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in 2017, which was an absolute masterpiece. An exhausted Okada finally put Omega away just after the 46-minute mark, and the two men combined to reinvent the structure for a breathtaking main event. The rematch took place in June at the Dominion show, where they wrestled to a 60-minute draw. Their third encounter was that same year, on Day 18 of New Japan’s G1 Climax tournament. Omega won the match, which was their shortest at 27 minutes—yet best of the series up until that point—by hitting the One-Winged Angel. That introduced an entirely new element in the story, planting a seed of doubt in Okada that he could not overcome Omega’s finisher. And that ultimately played a crucial role in the two out of three falls match at Dominion in ’18, which is when Omega defeated Okada to win the IWGP heavyweight championship—as well as seize the lead against Okada in the head-to-head matchups.

“Is there still unfinished business there?” Okada asks. “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.”

In January, Okada told SI that he hoped to wrestle Bryan Danielson and CM Punk. Naturally, those comments received a significant reaction. Punk even posted his address online for Okada to come wrestle him. Okada was asked whether there is an open invitation for Punk or Danielson to wrestle him at Forbidden Door or even inside the Tokyo Dome next January at Wrestle Kingdom.

“Forbidden Door with AEW has just been announced, and all the fans are predicting various matches,” Okada says. “I believe the day will come when I wrestle CM Punk and Bryan Danielson.”

In addition to looking forward to witnessing Okada’s future, it is equally as meaningful to look at his past. He wrestled Zack Sabre Jr. earlier this month at Hyper Battle, defeating this year’s winner of the New Japan Cup in an extraordinary match.

“Zack is a great wrestler,” Okada says. “I thought that match was one-of-a-kind in its existence. He is a master of old European professional wrestling, and I think I was able to grow up again by embracing a style of professional wrestling that is different from the one in Japan, the United States and Mexico. We’re the same age, too. I’m sure it won’t be our last match together, but I guarantee he won’t win any of them.”

If Okada is victorious against Naito this Sunday at Wrestling Dontaku, he will be the one to carry the New Japan banner during the upcoming visit overseas. That makes a great deal of sense considering there is no brighter star in the company than Okada.

As New Japan celebrates its 50th anniversary, Okada has taken immense pride in representing true wrestling legends that have wrestled for the company.

“At the ceremony of our anniversary in March, I felt the weight of 50 years when standing in front of many legends,” Okada says. “I had to have that torch, to be that link between the legends and the next generation. Every time I step in the ring, it is my responsibility to firmly convey that unstoppable fighting spirit of professional wrestling to everyone.”

Now Okada has a new opportunity, one where he can share another piece of New Japan’s excellence with the world.

“The professional wrestling world has finally begun to move,” Okada says. “I am focused on my title match in Japan, but I have also received lots of comments from American fans on Twitter. I’m firmly accepting all of their kind wishes. But as nice as those comments are, I am happier with cheers. I am ‘The Rainmaker,’ and I hope people come and cheer when we make it rain in the U.S.”

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Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.