Kazuchika Okada has expressed his desire to surpass Antonio Inoki’s efforts in bringing NJPW to the world.
In a recent interview with Number, Kazuchika Okada shared his ambitions for the future and how he believes that the internet and streaming can help in ways that were not available during Inoki’s time. Okada said that he wants to make pro wrestling more exciting and spread the word about it in a different way.
People might say, ‘It’s impossible to surpass Mr. Inoki,’ but I think we have no choice but to make pro wrestling more exciting. After getting the number of spectators back, and now that we have video distribution on the internet, we would like to spread the word about professional wrestling in a different way.
Inoki is credited with introducing Strong-style wrestling to the world. He focused heavily on overseas strategy and tried to bring NJPW to a global audience. Okada believes that times have changed, and the internet has made it possible to reach more fans worldwide.
Mr. Inoki used to focus on overseas strategy and trying to bring New Japan’s professional wrestling to the world, but now times have changed, and there are many New Japan fans overseas through the Internet. I would like to go beyond what Inoki-san has done in that way. I don’t think I have that much time left as an active [wrestler], so I want to do my best,
Okada is aware that he is still in his prime, but he believes that he doesn’t have much time left as an active wrestler. He wants to make the most of his time in NJPW and leave a lasting legacy by taking the promotion to even greater heights.
At AEW Battle Of The Belts VIII, it was announced that Kazuchika Okada will compete on AEW Dynamite for the very first time.
What Has Kazuchika Okada Done In NJPW Recently?
Kazuchika Okada is currently one of the NEVER Openweight six-man Tag Team Champions with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii. Okada also recently competed in the 2023 G1 Climax tournament where he went on to top the B Block and Okada advanced all the way to the finals taking on Tetsuya Naito which he unfortunately lost marking his first-ever loss in a G1 final match.
In a surprising turn of events, WWE could be looking to sign the New Japan star in the near future.
H/t to Fightful.com