Kazuchika Okada Gives His Last Match at Korakuen Hall

Kazuchika Okada says goodbye to Korakuen Hall for the last time as a New Japan roster member

By: R. Faliani

“The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada has given his last match at Korakuen Hall working for New Japan Pro Wrestling after more than ten years in the company. The former IWGP World Champion gave an emotional performance on his way out.

As NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champion alongside Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii, Okada promised to give his final title defense in New Japan today, and he wanted to show the Korakuen aficionados one last Rainmaker before leaving the company.

His rivals were none other than the team that successfully defeated him in New Year Dash: TMDK was looking to give Okada his final loss and win the 6-mAN belts for the faction. The trio consisting of Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, and Mikey Nicholls had great chances to achieve this goal but at the end of the day, Okada is still at the top of his game.

The NEVER 6-Man Tag Champion reigned supreme one more time. What followed was the last moments of “The Rainmaker” in Korakuen Hall, relinquishing his belt and giving it to Ishii, his long-time partner in CHAOS.

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Okada went backstage and based on Tokyo Sports’ report, he had words for NJPW fans around the world, asking and rumoring about the state of his career and the future plans he will have. The Rainmaker signaled that the end of his venture in New Japan will be on February 24th, as he will have one final match – now as an “outsider”. Okada answered to many reporters, and his words were choice, before entering his dressing room:

“I can only thank you for sending me off so well. I want to make use of what I learned in NJPW the next place I go, and I’ll do my best. I don’t want to wish to come back in the future, and neither I want New Japan to say certain things wouldn’t have happened without Okada in the company. I would like to thank everyone involved in the world of Japanese wrestling, but this is not the end. Let’s meet again. Thank you.”

As we previously reported, Okada will potentially end up in WWE, working under Triple H’s regime and following the steps of his mentor in CHAOS, Shinsuke Nakamura, who signed with NXT in 2016 and debuted in at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in a first-time matchup against Sami Zayn.

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