Kazuchika Okada
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(born November 8, 1987) is a Japanese
professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
currently signed to
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...
. Okada is a five-time
IWGP Heavyweight Champion The was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the final of an IWG ...
where his fourth reign with the championship is the longest in history at 720 days. He also holds the record for most successful title defenses with 12. Additionally, he is also a former
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion The is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The championship was created on March 1, 2021 by the unification of the ...
, making him a six-time world champion overall in NJPW. Initially trained by
Último Dragón (born December 12, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and actor, better known as . In addition to having trained in Japan, Asai learned to wrestle in the lucha libre style while working in Mexico. He is credited with popularizing the "Asa ...
and making his debut in August 2004, Okada spent his first years in professional wrestling working in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, before returning to Japan and making NJPW his home promotion in mid-2007. Originally working as a junior heavyweight, Okada graduated to the heavyweight division in April 2008, with limited success. In February 2010, NJPW sent Okada on a learning excursion to American promotion
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
(TNA), where he spent the next twenty months, mainly performing on the promotion's secondary television program, '' Xplosion''. From January to March 2011, he performed under the name Okato on TNA's primary television program, '' Impact!'', as
Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AEW ...
's sidekick in his rivalry with
D'Angelo Dinero Elijah Samuel Burke (born May 24, 1981) is an American professional wrestler also known under the ring names "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero and Da Pope. He currently wrestles for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as "Da Pope" Elijah Burke, where he ...
. Okada's run with TNA ended in October 2011 and he returned to NJPW in January 2012, repackaged as , complete with a new look and a villainous
persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally ref ...
. Just a month later, Okada defeated
Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...
to win NJPW's top title, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which he would hold for four months before losing it back to Tanahashi. The following August, Okada won NJPW's premier tournament, the
G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually (and currently) held as a round-robin, with winners ...
. At the end of the year, the ''
Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960. See also * Tokyo Sports Film Award * Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' mag ...
'' magazine named Okada the 2012
MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
in all of Japanese professional wrestling. The following year, Okada first won the
New Japan Cup __NOTOC__ The New Japan Cup (NJC) is an annual single-elimination professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) since 2005. It is considered the second most prominent heavyweight tournament in NJPW, after the G1 Climax w ...
in March and then regained the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Tanahashi in April. After a thirteen-month reign, Okada lost the title in May 2014. Three months later, he won his second G1 Climax. Okada went on to win his third G1 Climax in 2021 and his fourth in 2022, which makes him the wrestler with the second-most wins in the tournament with four, just behind
Masahiro Chono is an American-born Japanese-American retired professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26 year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of nWo Japan, Team 2000 and Black New Japan, he was the promotion's top heel for m ...
who has five. Okada has since won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship three more times and headlined NJPW's biggest annual event—the
January 4 Tokyo Dome Show The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is a professional wrestling event produced annually on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), a Japan-based professional wrestling promotion. NJPW has promoted events in the venue every Janu ...
—seven times including ( 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 16). Okada became the first Japanese wrestler to top ''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
''s list of the top 500 wrestlers in the world in 2017.


Early life

Okada was born on November 8, 1987, in Anjō, Aichi. As a child, he lived and attended a primary school in Anjō. However, before completing primary school, Okada was lured by the nature in his mother's hometown in the
Gotō Islands The are Japanese islands in the East China Sea, off the western coast of Kyūshū. They are part of Nagasaki Prefecture. Geography There are 140 islands, including five main ones: , , , , and . The group of islands runs approximately fr ...
in
Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,314,078 (1 June 2020) and has a geographic area of 4,130 Square kilometre, km2 (1,594 sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture borders ...
and chose to complete the rest of his primary education in a special boarding school there. Upon graduation, he returned to Anjō. In middle school, Okada joined the school's baseball and track team. Although he did not stand out as a baseball player, Okada was able to win first place in a regional 100 meter dash competition. His reputation as a sprinter was good enough to be scouted by high school recruiters. He was exposed to
professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
for the first time when one of his older brothers happened to borrow a
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...
(NJPW) video game from his friend.


Professional wrestling career


Training and early career (2004–2007)

Trained by
Último Dragón (born December 12, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and actor, better known as . In addition to having trained in Japan, Asai learned to wrestle in the lucha libre style while working in Mexico. He is credited with popularizing the "Asa ...
at his Toryumon
professional wrestling school Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...
, Okada made his debut on August 29, 2004, against
Negro Navarro Negro Navarro (born June 12, 1957) is the ring name of Miguel Calderón Navarro, a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler. Navarro works as a Freelancer on the Mexican independent circuit as well as making regular appearances for Inter ...
and would spend the next couple of years wrestling primarily in Toryumon Mexico. In December 2005, Okada won the 2005 Young Dragons Cup. Okada would also make appearances in the United States and Canada for promotions such as UWA Hardcore Wrestling and Chikara. On October 27, 2006, Okada participated in UWA Hardcore Wrestling's 2006 Grand Prix Tournament, but was eliminated in the first round by Puma. The following day, Okada and Último Dragón unsuccessfully challenged
Alex Shelley Patrick Kenneth Martin (born May 23, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and physical therapy clinician, better known by the ring name, Alex Shelley, makes appearances with Impact Wrestling (formerly known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestl ...
and
Chris Sabin Joshua Harter (born February 4, 1982), better known by his ring name Chris Sabin, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, and is also known for his work in Ring of Honor. After being trained by Scott D ...
for the
NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Championship The International Lightweight Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Zero1, contested exclusively among junior heavyweight (<)
. On November 12, 2006, Okada made his debut for Chikara by defeating Osiris. During his time in UWA Hardcore Wrestling, Okada also unsuccessfully challenged Josh Prohibition for the UWA Canadian Championship on May 26, 2007. On July 22, 2007, Okada took part in Último Dragón's 20th anniversary show, where he wrestled in a
six-man tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...
alongside NJPW wrestlers
Jyushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...
and Milano Collection A.T. After the match, it was announced that Okada was graduating from Toryumon and joining NJPW.


New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2007–2010)

Upon joining NJPW, Okada entered the
NJPW Dojo (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares o ...
, where he went through further training. He would have a pre-debut match for the company on August 26, 2007, losing to
Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' faction. Tetsuya Naito began training for a professional wrestling career in 2000, initially under Anima ...
. A legitimate injury would sideline Okada for the next eight months and upon his return in April 2008 he would be billed as a heavyweight instead of a junior heavyweight, and have his official debut match on April 12, 2008, against
Taichi Ishikari (born March 19, 1980) is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name , shortened from his previous ring name . He is currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Taichi is a former NEVER Openweight Champion, a forme ...
. His career would start to pick up steam the following year with breakout performances in the NJPW vs.
Pro Wrestling Noah (stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left the ...
war against the likes of
Takashi Sugiura is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Sugiura, an accomplished amateur wrestler, joined Noah's dojo in 2000, making his professional debut on December 23, 2000, and thus becoming the first wrestler ...
and
Go Shiozaki is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion where he is the former GHC Heavyweight Champion in a record breaking fifth reign. He made his debut for the promotion in July 2004 and remained with it unti ...
. He would also wrestle main eventers such as
Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand. Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where ...
,
Hirooki Goto is a Japanese professional wrestler. Since his debut, he has wrestled primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He is also known for being the longest reigning NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion with his Chaos stablemates, Tomohiro Ishii and ...
and Tajiri and—despite losing all of his big matches—he was becoming a big crowd favorite. In January 2010, NJPW announced that they would be sending Okada to
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
(TNA) for a developmental tour in order for him to become the wrestler NJPW believed he could be. NJPW president Naoki Sugabayashi predicted the tour could take up to two or three years. On January 31, 2010, Okada was defeated by former four-time
IWGP Heavyweight Champion The was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the final of an IWG ...
Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...
in his NJPW farewell match.


Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2010–2011)

Okada made his TNA debut at the February 16, 2010, tapings of '' Impact!'', losing to Alex Shelley in a
dark match Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence ...
. At the March 9 tapings, Okada was defeated by
Jay Lethal Jamar Shipman (born April 29, 1985), better known by the ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Dubbed "The Franchise" of Ring of Honor, Lethal is a two-time ROH World Champion, ...
in another dark match. On March 20, Okada made his debut for
Jersey All Pro Wrestling Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) was an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey, United States. History 1997 Jersey All Pro Wrestling was an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia and Angel Surita ...
(JAPW) at Wild Card VI, where he was defeated by fellow TNA wrestler
Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AEW ...
. Okada's dark matches for TNA continued on March 23 with a loss against Daniels. On April 6, Okada, using only his last name, competed in his first televised TNA match when he and
Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
were defeated by Generation Me (Jeremy and Max Buck) in a
tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
, which was later broadcast on the '' Xplosion'' television program and the company's official website and
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel. That same week, Okada also began wrestling at TNA's live events. On May 4, Okada and Homicide were defeated in another ''Xplosion'' match by
Ink Inc. Ink Inc. was a professional wrestling stable, consisting of Shannon Moore, Jesse Neal, and their valet Toxxin, in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). History Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2010–2011) ...
(
Jesse Neal Jesse Neal (born April 10, 1980)
Profightdb.com. Retrieved on August 5, 2010.
is an American
Shannon Moore Shannon Moore (born July 27, 1979) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for several years in the 2000s. H ...
). On May 17, X Division Champion Douglas Williams defeated Okada in a non-title ''Xplosion'' match. On July 15, Okada made his first appearance on ''Impact!'', running out to the ring in an attempt to stop former
ECW ECW may refer to: Professional wrestling * Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001 * The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...
wrestlers from taking over the show. At the August 9 tapings, Okada picked up his first victory in TNA, defeating
Kid Kash David Tyler Cash (born July 31, 1969) better known by his ring name Kid Kash, is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, best known for his tenures with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (T ...
in a dark match. On the October 8 ''Xplosion'', Okada formed a
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
with compatriot Kiyoshi, but the two of them were then defeated in their first match together by Ink Inc. On the November 26 ''Xplosion'', Okada was defeated by
Rob Terry Robert Terry (born 30 April 1980) is a Welsh bodybuilder and a former professional wrestler. He is known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring names Rob Terry and The Freak. He is also known for his work in TNA ...
. On the December 17 ''Xplosion'', Okada was defeated by
Stevie Richards Michael Stephen Manna (born October 9, 1971), better known by his ring name Stevie Richards, is an American professional wrestler. Over the course of his career, Richards has performed for major professional wrestling promotions including Easte ...
. Okada and Kiyoshi had a rematch with Ink Inc. at the December 7 tapings of ''Xplosion'', but were once again defeated. On January 20, 2011, Okada turned into a fan favorite as he made his second appearance on ''Impact!'', when he was revealed as the camera man whom Samoa Joe had hired to follow
D'Angelo Dinero Elijah Samuel Burke (born May 24, 1981) is an American professional wrestler also known under the ring names "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero and Da Pope. He currently wrestles for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as "Da Pope" Elijah Burke, where he ...
in order to expose his lies about helping the needy. During the appearance, Okada debuted a new look inspired by Kato from ''
The Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media ...
'' series. Okada, now renamed Okato, made his first TNA pay-per-view appearance at Against All Odds on February 13, preventing Dinero from leaving the ring during his match with Joe. After losing the match, Dinero attacked both Okato and Joe. Okato made his ''Impact!'' in-ring debut on March 24, when he defeated Dinero via disqualification. The match concluded Okato's participation in the
feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
between Joe and Dinero and he subsequently returned to performing under his real surname. On the June 21 ''Xplosion'', Okada was defeated by Alex Shelley in the first round of the Xplosion Championship Challenge. On October 13, his profile was removed from TNA's roster page. TNA's handling of Okada was reportedly one of the reasons NJPW ceased the relationship between the two promotions shortly afterwards. Despite not being used by TNA, Okada has stated that he felt that his time in the promotion was beneficial to him as he learned he needed more than just a good match''—''he needed a
character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
. According to Okada, in
Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling in Japan has existed for many years. The first Japanese to involve himself in catch wrestling, the basis of traditional professional wrestling, was former sumo wrestler Sorakichi Matsuda. There were subsequent attempts before ...
"there is no character – it's fight, fight, fight", but TNA's agents kept telling him that he needed a character, which led to him creating the "Rainmaker" persona upon his return to NJPW. In October 2017, it was reported that while representatives of the American promotion, now known as Impact Wrestling, were visiting Japan, attempting to revive the relationship between their company and NJPW, they specifically apologized to Okada for his treatment.


Return to NJPW


Sporadic appearances (2010–2011)

On December 14, 2010, NJPW announced that Okada would be returning to the promotion on January 4, 2011, at Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome, where he would team with Hirooki Goto against Noah representatives Takashi Sugiura and
Yoshihiro Takayama is a former Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Debuting for UWF International (UWFI) in the 1990s, Takayama joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1997 after UWF-i folded. In 2000, he joined Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), and ...
. On December 23, he made a surprise return to the promotion, performing a
German suplex A suplex is an offensive move used in sport wrestling as well as amateur wrestling and professional wrestling. It is a throw that involves lifting the opponents and bridging or rolling to slam them on their backs. Professional wrestling featu ...
on Takayama, after a match where he and
Minoru Suzuki (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, Suzuki has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice hol ...
had defeated
Yuji Nagata is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). A two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, World Heavyweight Champion and a GHC Heavyweight Champion, making him a four-time world champion in major professional ...
and
Wataru Inoue is a Japanese retired professional wrestler currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Professional wrestling career Inoue made his debut on New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1999. He aligned himself with New Japan Junior Seikigun, a face ...
. At Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome, Takayama pinned Okada to win the match. After the event, Okada returned to the United States and TNA. Okada returned to NJPW during the
NJPW Invasion Tour 2011 NJPW Invasion Tour 2011: Attack on East Coast was the first American tour run by Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in May 2011. The tour was hosted by Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) and featured all of NJPW's ...
(NJPW's first tour of the United States) on May 13 in
Rahway, New Jersey Rahway () is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is southwest of Manhattan ...
, but was defeated by
MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
in the first round of a
tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
to determine the inaugural
IWGP Intercontinental Champion The was a professional wrestling championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was officially announced on January 5, 2011 and the Inaugural Champion MVP was cr ...
. At the following day's event in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Okada teamed with
Ryusuke Taguchi is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a former two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, seven-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion and three-time NEVER Op ...
and
Togi Makabe , better known by his ring name is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former one-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, two-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, two-time ...
in a six-man tag team match, where they were defeated by
Davey Richards Wesley David Richards (born March 1, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), under the ring name Davey Richards, and is the current MLW National Openweight Champion in his first reign. ...
, Homicide and
Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
. On May 15, during the final day of the tour in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, Okada teamed with
Charlie Haas Charles Doyle Haas II (born March 27, 1972) is an American professional and former amateur wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2000-2009 and Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2010-2013. In WWE he was a me ...
, Josh Daniels and
Tiger Mask is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 to ...
in an eight-man tag team match, where they were defeated by
Chaos Chaos or CHAOS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional elements * Chaos (''Kinnikuman'') * Chaos (''Sailor Moon'') * Chaos (''Sesame Park'') * Chaos (''Warhammer'') * Chaos, in ''Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy'' * Cha ...
(Shinsuke Nakamura,
Gedo Gedo ( so, Gedo, Maay: ''Gethy'', ar, جيذو, it, Ghedo or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. It was created in 1974 and is bordered by the Ogaden in E ...
,
Jado (born September 28, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . He is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as part of a tag team with his partner Gedo. Jado and Gedo's careers have largely para ...
and
Yujiro Takahashi , is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Bullet Club and its sub-group House of Torture. Takahashi entered New Japan in November 2003 with an extensive amateur backgr ...
). On December 9, 2011, NJPW announced that Okada, having gained of muscle to increase his overall weight from to , would be returning to the promotion on January 4, 2012, at
Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) Professional wrestling promotion, promotion, which took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 2012. It was the 21st January 4 Toky ...
, where he would face
Yoshi-Hashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as Yoshi-Hashi (stylized in all capital letters), where he is a former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion alongside Hirooki Goto. As well as a former ...
, also making his return after a learning excursion to
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
(CMLL).


Feud with Hiroshi Tanahashi (2012–2016)

On January 4, 2012, Okada defeated Yoshi-Hashi in his return match and then challenged Hiroshi Tanahashi to a match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship following the show's main event. At the following day's press conference, where the title match was made official, Okada revealed that he had joined Chaos, NJPW's top villainous
stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
, enlisting new stablemate Gedo as his
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
and spokesperson. Adopting the new villainous persona of "Rainmaker", Okada changed the Japanese writing of his
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
from "岡田かずちか" to "オカダ・カズチカ". Okada described his new persona as a combination of the three professional wrestling styles he had learned, stating that he took his
dropkick A dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as they jump so that when the feet connec ...
from Mexico, his "fighting spirit" from Japan and the "TV and the entertainment" from the United States. In the month leading to the title match, Okada went on a main event win streak, which included pinning Tanahashi in a tag team match on January 29. On February 12 at The New Beginning, Okada defeated Tanahashi to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Okada made his first title defense on March 4, defeating Tetsuya Naito in the main event of NJPW's 40th anniversary event. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2012, Okada defeated
2012 New Japan Cup __NOTOC__ The New Japan Cup (NJC) is an annual single-elimination professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) since 2005. It is considered the second most prominent heavyweight tournament in NJPW, after the G1 Climax wh ...
winner and reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto to make his second successful title defense. On June 16 at Dominion 6.16, Okada lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship back to Hiroshi Tanahashi, ending his reign at 125 days. On August 1, Okada entered his first G1 Climax#2012, G1 Climax tournament. In the tournament, Okada wrestled in the same block as Chaos leader Shinsuke Nakamura and, on August 5, was defeated by Nakamura, who effectively solidified his spot as the group's leader in the process. However, Okada bounced back from the loss, winning five of his eight Round-robin tournament, round-robin stage matches and finished at the top of his block, advancing to the finals of the tournament. In the finals on August 12, Okada defeated Karl Anderson to win the 2012 G1 Climax. Breaking
Masahiro Chono is an American-born Japanese-American retired professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26 year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of nWo Japan, Team 2000 and Black New Japan, he was the promotion's top heel for m ...
's record for the youngest G1 Climax winner in history, Okada announced that he wanted his shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on January 4, 2013, at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome. Okada signed a contract for the Tokyo Dome match on September 6, making him the official number one contender to the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at NJPW's biggest event of the year. However, before January 4, Okada would have to defend his contract as if it were a championship. On October 8 at King of Pro-Wrestling (2012), King of Pro-Wrestling, Okada made his first successful defense of the contract against Karl Anderson. On November 11 at Power Struggle (2012), Power Struggle, Okada made another successful defense against Hirooki Goto. Later in the event, after Hiroshi Tanahashi had successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Yujiro Takahashi, the Tokyo Dome title match between him and Okada was made official. From November 20 to December 1, Okada took part in the round-robin portion of the 2012 World Tag League, alongside stablemate Yoshi-Hashi under the team name "Chaos Ride the Lightning". The team finished with a record of three wins and three losses, with a loss to Sword & Guns (Hirooki Goto and Karl Anderson) on the final day, costing them a spot in the semifinals of the tournament. On December 10, ''
Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960. See also * Tokyo Sports Film Award * Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' mag ...
'' named Okada the 2012
MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
in all of ''puroresu''. His match with Hiroshi Tanahashi from June 16 was also named the Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards#Best Bout Award, Match of the Year. On January 4, 2013, at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome, Okada failed in his title challenge against Tanahashi. On January 15, Okada publicly dismissed rumors that he was going to be signing with WWE and instead announced that he had just signed a contract extension with NJPW. In February, Okada led Chaos to a war with NJPW's other heel stable, Suzuki-gun, which built to a match on February 10 at The New Beginning (2013), The New Beginning, where Okada, positioned as the face, was defeated by the stable's leader Minoru Suzuki, following interference from Taichi Ishikari, Taichi. In preparation for the 2013 New Japan Cup, Okada announced that he had created a new submission finishing maneuver, the ''Professional wrestling holds#Cross-legged STF, Red Ink'', in order to win the tournament. On March 11, he used the ''Red Ink'' to defeat Suzuki-gun member and IWGP Tag Team Champion Lance Archer in his first round match. Six days later, Okada advanced to the semifinals of the tournament with a win over Karl Anderson. On March 23, Okada first defeated Chaos stablemate Toru Yano in the semifinals and then Hirooki Goto in the finals to win the 2013 New Japan Cup and once again become the number one contender to Tanahashi's IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On April 7 at Invasion Attack (2013), Invasion Attack, Okada defeated Tanahashi to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the second time. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2013, Okada made his first successful title defense against Minoru Suzuki. His second successful defense took place on June 22 at Dominion 6.22 against Togi Makabe. On July 20, Okada made his third successful title defense against IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Prince Devitt. From August 1 to 11, Okada took part in the 2013 G1 Climax, where he opened by losing three of his first four matches. After bouncing back to a three-match win streak and a time limit draw with Hiroshi Tanahashi, Okada finished his tournament with a loss against Satoshi Kojima, which meant that he was eliminated from the tournament. On August 18, Okada made a rare appearance outside of NJPW, when he took part in the DDT Pro-Wrestling promotion's annual ''Ryōgoku Peter Pan'' event, defeating Kota Ibushi in a special non-title match. On September 29 at Destruction (2013), Destruction, Okada avenged the loss from G1 Climax by defeating Satoshi Kojima for his fourth successful defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On October 14 at King of Pro-Wrestling (2013), King of Pro-Wrestling, Okada made his fifth successful title defense against Hiroshi Tanahashi in what Tanahashi claimed would be his final challenge for the title. With the win, NJPW claimed that Okada had taken over Tanahashi's spot as the "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#ace, ace" of the promotion. On November 9 at Power Struggle (2013), Power Struggle, Okada defeated Karl Anderson in a rematch of the 2012 G1 Climax finals for his sixth successful title defense. Okada and his next challenger, 2013 G1 Climax winner Tetsuya Naito, faced off on November 23 during the first day of the 2013 World Tag League in a match, where Okada and Yoshi-Hashi were victorious over Naito and La Sombra (wrestler), La Sombra. Okada and Yoshi-Hashi however managed to win only one of their five remaining matches in the tournament and finished second to last in their block, failing to advance to the semifinals. Following a disappointing fan reaction to a confrontation between Okada and Naito, NJPW announced that fans would get to vote whether they or Shinsuke Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship would be the true main event of the Tokyo Dome show. When the results were released on December 9, Okada and Naito had gotten only half the votes Nakamura and Tanahashi had gotten and, as a result, lost their main event spot for NJPW's biggest show of the year. That same day, Okada became the first wrestler in 25 years to win back-to-back MVP awards from ''Tokyo Sports''. On January 4, 2014, at Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome, Okada defeated Naito for his seventh successful title defense. Okada's eighth successful title defense took place on February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka (2014), The New Beginning in Osaka, where he defeated Hirooki Goto. On April 6 at Invasion Attack 2014, Okada found himself a new challenger in Bullet Club's newest member, the debuting A.J. Styles, who claimed that Okada was still the same "young boy" (rookie) he had known in TNA. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2014, Okada's thirteen-month reign as the IWGP Heavyweight Champion came to an end, when he lost the title to Styles in his ninth defense, after Yujiro Takahashi turned on him and Chaos and joined Bullet Club. In May, Okada took part in NJPW's North American tour, during which he received a rematch for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On May 17 at War of the Worlds (2014 wrestling), War of the Worlds in New York City, Okada unsuccessfully challenged Styles for the title in a three-way match, which also included Michael Elgin, whom Styles pinned for the win. Okada received another shot at the title on May 25 at Back to the Yokohama Arena, but was again defeated by Styles. From July 21 to August 8, Okada took part in the 2014 G1 Climax, where he won his block with a record of eight wins and two losses, which included a win over Styles, advancing to the finals. On August 10, Okada defeated Chaos stablemate Shinsuke Nakamura to win the 2014 G1 Climax. On September 21 at Destruction in Kobe (2014), Destruction in Kobe, Okada teamed with Yoshi-Hashi to unsuccessfully challenge Bullet Club's Drew Hankinson, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. Two days later at Destruction in Okayama (2014), Destruction in Okayama, Okada successfully defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship number one contender's contract against Karl Anderson. On October 13 at King of Pro-Wrestling (2014), King of Pro-Wrestling, Okada made another successful defense of his contract against Tetsuya Naito. The following month, Okada once again teamed up with Yoshi-Hashi for the 2014 World Tag League. The team finished their block with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals. On January 4, 2015, at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome, Okada received his shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi. Okada then started a stoyline, where the loss to Tanahashi had broken him both physically and mentally, causing him to enter a Slump (sports), slump. This led to a rivalry between him and Bullet Club's Bad Luck Fale, who scored several pinfall wins over Okada, including in the first round of the 2015 New Japan Cup. Okada finally defeated Fale in a singles match on April 5 at Invasion Attack 2015, after which he announced his intention of regaining the IWGP Heavyweight Championship by attacking A.J. Styles at the conclusion of the event. On July 5 at Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall, Okada defeated Styles to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the third time. From July 23 to August 15, Okada took part in the 2015 G1 Climax. He entered the final day with a chance to advance from his block, but a loss against Chaos stablemate Shinsuke Nakamura cost him a spot in the finals, giving him a record of seven wins and two losses. On August 16, Okada had a staredown with Genichiro Tenryu, who chose him to be his opponent in his retirement match. On November 15 at Tenryu Project#Genichiro Tenryu Retirement ~ Revolution Final, Revolution Final, Okada defeated Tenryu in his retirement match. On December 7, Okada won his third MVP award from ''Tokyo Sports'', while his match with Tenryu was named the Match of the Year. With the win, Okada became only the fifth three-time MVP award winner. In December 2015, Okada signed a one-year contract extension with NJPW. However, following A.J. Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura's departures from the promotion the following month, NJPW owner Takaaki Kidani announced that the promotion was scrapping the one-year contract system and was looking to offer Okada, their top priority, a new five-year ¥200 million contract. On January 4, 2016, Okada defeated 2015 G1 Climax winner Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and become the new ace of the promotion, the match at that time was the longest in the history of the January 4 Dome Show .


Longest-reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion (2016–2018)

Okada made his third successful title defense on February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka (2016), The New Beginning in Osaka against Hirooki Goto. On April 10 at Invasion Attack 2016, Okada lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to 2016 New Japan Cup winner Tetsuya Naito, following outside interference from Naito's ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' stablemates Tetsuya Bushi, Bushi, Takaaki Watanabe, Evil and the debuting Seiya Sanada, Sanada. Okada gained revenge on Sanada by defeating him on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2016. This led to a rematch with Naito on June 19 at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall, where Okada won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the fourth time. From July 18 to August 12, Okada took part in the 2016 G1 Climax, where he finished tied second in his block with a record of five wins, one draw and three losses. A 30-minute time limit draw against Hiroshi Tanahashi on the final day eliminated both men from advancing to the finals. During the G1 Climax, Okada was defeated by Pro Wrestling Noah representative Naomichi Marufuji, which led to his first title defense following the tournament on October 10 at King of Pro-Wrestling (2016), King of Pro-Wrestling, where Okada retained the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Marufuji, thus setting up the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome between Okada and the 2016 G1 Climax winner Kenny Omega. On December 14, Okada became the second wrestler to win three consecutive Match of the Year awards from ''Tokyo Sports'' for his 2016 G1 Climax opener against Naomichi Marufuji. On January 4, 2017, Okada successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome. At 46 minutes and 45 seconds, the match is the longest in the history of the
January 4 Tokyo Dome Show The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is a professional wrestling event produced annually on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), a Japan-based professional wrestling promotion. NJPW has promoted events in the venue every Janu ...
. Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, in his ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', gave the match a six-star rating. He added that Okada and Omega "may have put on the greatest match in pro wrestling history" and that it was the best match he had ever seen. The match was also praised by the likes of Bryan Danielson, Daniel Bryan, Mick Foley and Stone Cold Steve Austin. The day after Wrestle Kingdom 11, Okada and Chaos were attacked by the returning Minoru Suzuki and his Suzuki-gun stable, which led to his third title defense on February 5 at The New Beginning in Sapporo (2017), The New Beginning in Sapporo, where he defeated Suzuki. Okada's fourth defense took place on April 9 at Sakura Genesis 2017, where he defeated 2017 New Japan Cup winner Katsuyori Shibata. Okada's fifth defense took place on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2017, where he defeated Bad Luck Fale. After the match, Okada nominated Omega as his next challenger for the championship. The rematch between Okada and Omega on June 11 at Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall ended in NJPW's first 60-minute time limit draw in 12 years, meaning that Okada was successful in his sixth defense. Okada's seventh title defense took place during the first night of G1 Special in USA on July 1, where he defeated Cody Rhodes, Cody. Okada then entered the 2017 G1 Climax, where he finished with a record of six wins, one draw and two losses, failing to advance to the finals due to losing to Kenny Omega in their third match against each other on August 12. On October 9 at King of Pro-Wrestling (2017), King of Pro-Wrestling, Okada avenged a loss suffered during the 2017 G1 Climax by making his eighth successful title defense against Evil, setting him up against G1 Climax winner Tetsuya Naito in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 12. On October 22, Okada became the longest-reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion in history by breaking the previous record of 489 days, held by Shinya Hashimoto. On January 3, 2018, Okada also broke Hiroshi Tanahashi's record of 1,358 combined days as champion. The following day at Wrestle Kingdom 12, Okada defeated Tetsuya Naito to retain the title. On February 10 at The New Beginning in Osaka (2018), The New Beginning in Osaka, Okada defeated Sanada to retain the championship for the tenth time. On March 21, Okada was challenged for the title by New Japan Cup#2018, New Japan Cup winner Zack Sabre Jr. and at Sakura Genesis 2018, Sakura Genesis went on to defeat Sabre Jr. to tie Hiroshi Tanahashi's record for most successful title defenses in one reign at 11 defenses. After the match, Okada was confronted by Tanahashi, indicating a future match for the title. They met at Wrestling Dontaku 2018, where Okada defeated Tanahashi for his record-breaking 12th successful title defense, breaking Tanahashi's record of 11, and earning a 5 1/2 Star rating from Wrestling Observer Newsletter. His next challenger was then revealed to be Kenny Omega, having been chosen due to Okada's frustration with having one win, draw, and loss against him. In their fourth match, they competed in a two out of three falls match at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall (with no time limit to ensure there is no possibility of a draw as in their second singles match at Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall, Dominion 6.11), where Omega defeated Okada 2–1 to win the championship after a 65-minute match, ending Okada's record-breaking championship reign at 720 days.


Gedo's betrayal and various feuds (2018–2021)

Okada then entered the 2018 G1 Climax, where he finished with a record of six wins, one draw and two losses, exactly the same as the previous year's event, failing to advance to the finals. The event saw a change of image for Okada following the defeat by Omega, with his hair dyed red and portraying an indifferent attitude. This caused him to lose his first two matches against Jay White and Bad Luck Fale, although he would go on to the win the rest of the matches in his block, until the last one; another 30-minute time limit draw against Tanahashi. At the 2018 G1 Climax Finals, Okada parted ways with his longtime manager Gedo. Unsatisfied by their draw in the G1, Tanahashi opted to defend the contract for his Wrestle Kingdom 13 title shot against Okada. On September 23 at Destruction in Kobe, Okada was defeated by Tanahashi. Afterwards, he was attacked by Jay White before Gedo, his former manager, came out seemingly to stop him, only to betray Okada by hitting him in the back with a chair. This led to a match between White and Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 13, where he was defeated. In March, Okada competed in the New Japan Cup. He defeated Michael Elgin in Round 1, and fellow Chaos members Mikey Nicholls, Will Ospreay, and Tomohiro Ishii in Round 2, the Quarterfinals, and Semi-Finals, respectively. He went on to defeat Sanada in the finals of the tournament and win his second New Japan Cup. In doing so, he won the opportunity to challenge Jay White at New Japan/Ring of Honor joint show, G1 Supercard, for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. At the event on April 6, Okada defeated White to win the title for the fifth time. Okada then successfully defended his title against Sanada on the second night of the Wrestling Dontaku 2019 event. Then, Okada successfully defended his title against Chris Jericho at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall (2019), Dominion 6.9 for his second title defense. At NJPW Royal Quest, Royal Quest, Okada defeated
Minoru Suzuki (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, Suzuki has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice hol ...
for his third title defence, subsequently going on retain the title again at King of Pro-Wrestling (2019), King of Pro Wrestling vs Sanada which would set up a title match with G1 Climax 29, G1 Climax winner Kota Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom 14. On the first night of the two-day event, Okada retained the Championship against Ibushi, enabling him to advance to the Double Gold Dash Title-For-Title Match on Night 2, where Okada's fifth reign was ended by IWGP Intercontinental Championship, IWGP Intercontinental Champion
Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' faction. Tetsuya Naito began training for a professional wrestling career in 2000, initially under Anima ...
. Okada then entered a feud with Taichi, where at The New Beginning in Sapporo night 2, Okada defeated Taichi. Okada was then announced to be facing Jay White in the first round of the New Japan Cup 2020, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all New Japan Cup and further New Japan events were postponed. Okada defeated Gedo in the first round of the New Japan Cup, followed by subsequent victories over
Yuji Nagata is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). A two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, World Heavyweight Champion and a GHC Heavyweight Champion, making him a four-time world champion in major professional ...
, Taiji Ishimori, and Hiromu Takahashi, before losing to Evil (wrestler), Evil in the final. At Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall (2020), Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall, Okada was on the losing side of a tag team match, teaming with Goto against Bullet Club's Yujiro Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori, when Takahashi pinned Goto. This began a small feud with Takahashi, culminating in Okada defeating him at Sengoku Lord in Nagoya (2020), Sengoku Lord in Nagoya on July 25. During a post-match interview, Okada teased a "controversial announcement". Three days later, during a press conference, NJPW chairman Naoki Sugabayashi alongside Okada announced the creation of the KOPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), KOPW Championship; Okada then proceeded to introduce the title and its concept, also announcing KOPW 2021 for the following year. The tournament to crown the inaugural champion began on August 26 with four first round matches leading to a four-way final at Summer Struggle in Jingu. In the first round, Okada was paired off against Takahashi and the fans were allowed to vote for the stipulations online on the social networking service Twitter. Fans had the choice to vote for either a Professional wrestling match types#Handicap match, three-on-one handicap match including Gedo and Jado (Okada's choice) or a Professional wrestling match types, lumberjack with leather belts match (Takahashi's choice); fans voted for the former. On August 26, Okada soundly defeated his three opponents but would lose to stablemate Toru Yano three days later in the final which also included El Desperado and Sanada. From September 19 until October 16, Okada took part in G1 Climax 30 as part of block A, finishing the tournament with a record of six wins and three losses. Going into the final day of block A matches, Okada had a slim chance to qualify for the final needing a victory against Will Ospreay and for both Kota Ibushi and Jay White to lose their respective matches. However, Ospreay's girlfriend Bea Priestley and the returning Tomoyuki Oka, Great O-Kharn interfered in the match, helping earn victory for Ospreay and ending Okada's tournament. Afterwards, Ospreay cemented his heel turn by attacking Okada and would officially leave Chaos to start a new faction named United Empire, The Empire. Following the tournament, Okada was gunning for revenge against Ospreay for his actions. On November 7, at Power Struggle (2020), Power Struggle, Okada defeated O-Khan via referee's decision. Post match, he was confronted by Ospreay who challenged him to a match at Wrestle Kingdom 15, which Okada accepted. On January 4, 2021, at Wrestle Kingdom 15#Results, Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night 1, Okada defeated Ospreay.


IWGP World Heavyweight Champion (2021–present)

Following Will Ospreay relinquishing the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship after Wrestling Dontaku 2021, Wrestling Dontaku, Okada faced Shingo Takagi at Dominion 6.6 in Osaka-jo Hall in a losing effort for the vacant title. In October 2021, Okada would win the G1 Climax 31, G1 Climax for the third time in his career, finishing top of his block with 16 points (a joint record for ten-man G1 blocks) and defeating Kota Ibushi in the tournament finals, and earning himself another shot at Takagi and the championship. After winning the G1, Okada requested that instead of a briefcase for a shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom, he be awarded the former IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt which Ibushi had retired earlier in 2021. Okada's request was approved and he appeared at Road to Power Struggle on October 25 with the belt, and he would defeat Tama Tonga at Power Struggle (2021), the event to retain the certificate. On November 13, Okada returned to the US to defeat Buddy Matthews at Battle in the Valley. On Night 1 of Wrestle Kingdom 16, Okada defeated Takagi to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. He would also retain it against a returning Ospreay on Night 2. On Night 3, Okada teamed with
Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...
to defeat Pro Wrestling Noah, Pro Wrestling Noah's Keiji Mutoh and Kaito Kiyomiya. Okada's first title defence came on February 20, during the NJPW New Years Golden Series, where he defeated
Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' faction. Tetsuya Naito began training for a professional wrestling career in 2000, initially under Anima ...
. Okada once again teamed with Tanahashi alongside Tatsumi Fujinami to defeat Zack Sabre Jr,
Minoru Suzuki (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, Suzuki has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice hol ...
and Yoshiaki Fujiwara, at the NJPW 50th Anniversary Show on March 1. On April 9, Okada defeated Sabre Jr, who had won the New Japan Cup#2021, New Japan Cup, at Hyper Battle '22, Hyper Battle. On May 1, Okada once again defeated Naito at Wrestling Dontaku 2022, Wrestling Dontaku. After being attacked by the returning Jay White, Okada was scheduled to face White at Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall. White defeated Okada for the World Championship at the event, ending Okada's reign at 159 days. Also at Dominion, Okada was announced to be part of the G1 Climax 32 tournament in July, where he would compete in the A Block. He finished with 10 points, only losing once to Jonah (wrestler), Jonah, to advance to the semi-finals. In the semi-final round, Okada defeated B Block winner Tama Tonga. In the final, Okada defeated Will Ospreay, to win his second consecutive and fourth overall G1 Climax. The following day, during a press conference, instead of receiving a briefcase containing a contract for a title shot at Wrestle Kingdom, Okada proposed the winner of the G1 Climax should be automatically inserted into the main event at the Tokyo Dome, instead of defending his title shot. On October 10 at Declaration of Power, Okada avenged a loss suffered during the 2022 G1 Climax by defeating Jonah. Later that night, Okada confronted Jay White, after he successfully defended the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, setting up the main event for Wrestle Kingdom 17. On December 15, 2022, Okada won his fifth MVP award from ''Tokyo Sports'', while his match with Will Ospreay was named the Match of the Year. With his fifth overall MVP award, he just one behind Antonio Inoki in most overall MVP Awards.


Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2018)

On August 17, 2018, Okada, with Negro Casas and Último Guerrero, defeated Diamante Azul, Valiente (wrestler), Valiente and Místico II, Místico in Arena México.


All Elite Wrestling (2022)

Okada made his All Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut on the June 22nd, 2022 edition of ''AEW Dynamite'', coming to the aid of Adam Page while he was being attacked by Jay White and Adam Cole. Shortly after the exchange, it was announced that there would be a four-way battle for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship between Okada, Page, Cole, and White at AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door, Forbidden Door. At the event on June 26, White retained the title.


Other media

Along with fellow NJPW wrestler Shinsuke Nakamura, Okada is featured in the Japanese music video for Pharrell Williams' song ''Happy (Pharrell Williams song), Happy'', released in May 2014. In 2015, Okada voiced a character in the ''World Trigger'' anime series. The following year, he voiced a character in another anime, ''Future Card Buddy Fight 100''. Okada, along with fellow NJPW wrestlers Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Tetsuya Naito and Toru Yano, appears as a member of the gang Justis in the 2016 video game ''Yakuza 6: The Song of Life''. In January 2017, it was announced that the ''Tekken 7: Fated Retribution'' video game would feature Okada's in-ring costume as an alternate outfit for the character King (Tekken), King. When equipped, King performs Okada's finishing maneuver, the ''Rainmaker'', as his "Rage Art" move. The Okada-geared King was featured on the September 12, 2017 episode of WWE's ''WWE 205 Live, 205 Live'' program. Okada also appears as a wrestler in the 2017 NJPW-licensed video game Fire Pro Wrestling World. Okada played rhythm guitar on several tracks on The High Crusade's extended play ''Main Statement'', which was released on January 20, 2020.


Personal life

Okada was engaged to TV Asahi presenter Yoko Mori, whom he had been in a relationship with from 2013 to 2017. In August 2014, after his uncle and cousin had both been diagnosed with cancer, Okada established the "Rainmaker Kikin" ("Rainmaker Fund") to battle children's cancer. For every match Okada won, he pledged to donate ¥30,000 (the equivalent of US$277.20). In April 2019, voice actress Suzuko Mimori announced her marriage to Okada. In May 2022, it was announced that the couple are expecting their first child. In August, they welcomed the birth of their baby boy. Okada supports English football team, Manchester City. He stated that he supports Man City after watching 'All or Nothing' documentary of their success on Amazon Prime.


Filmography


Film


Television


Video games


Championships and accomplishments

*CBS Sports **Match of the Year (2018) *
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...
**IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (IWGP World Heavyweight Championship#Reigns, 1 time) **IWGP Heavyweight Championship (List of IWGP Heavyweight Champions, 5 times) **
G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually (and currently) held as a round-robin, with winners ...
(G1 Climax#2012, 2012, G1 Climax#2014, 2014, G1 Climax 31, 2021, G1 Climax 32, 2022) **New Japan Cup (New Japan Cup#2013, 2013, New Japan Cup#2019, 2019) **Best Bout (2017) *''Nikkan Sports'' **MVP Award (2012, 2013, 2015, 2017) **Match of the Year Award (2012) vs.
Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...
on February 12
**Match of the Year Award (2014) vs.
Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand. Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where ...
on August 10
**Match of the Year Award (2017) vs. Kenny Omega on January 4 **Match of the Year Award (2018) vs. Kenny Omega on June 9 **Outstanding Performance Award (2012) *''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
'' **Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''PWI 500'' in 2017 **List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards#Match of the Year, Match of the Year (2017) **Match of the Year (2018) **List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards#Feud of the Year, Feud of the Year (2017) *''Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards, Tokyo Sports'' **Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards#Best Bout Award, Best Bout Award (2012) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi on June 16 **Best Bout Award (2014) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura on August 10 **Best Bout Award (2015) vs. Genichiro Tenryu on November 15 **Best Bout Award (2016) vs. Naomichi Marufuji on July 18 **Best Bout Award (2017) vs. Kenny Omega on January 4 **Best Bout Award (2018) vs. Kenny Omega on June 9 **Best Bout Award (2019) vs. Sanada (wrestler), Sanada on October 14 **Best Bout Award (2020) **Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards#Best_Bout_Award_(ベストバウト,_Besutobauto), Best Bout Award (2022) vs. Will Ospreay on August 18 **Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards#MVP Award, MVP Award (2012, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2022) *Toryumon (Último Dragón), Toryumon Mexico **Toryumon (Último Dragón)#Young Dragons Cup, Young Dragons Cup (2005) *''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' **List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Best Wrestling Maneuver, Best Wrestling Maneuver (2012, 2013) **List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Feud of the Year, Feud of the Year (2012, 2013) **Feud of the Year (2017) **List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Most Improved, Most Improved (2012) **List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Most Outstanding Wrestler, Most Outstanding Wrestler (2017) **List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Pro Wrestling Match of the Year, Pro Wrestling Match of the Year (2013) **Pro Wrestling Match of the Year (2016) **Pro Wrestling Match of the Year (2017) **Pro Wrestling Match of the Year (2018) **List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Wrestler of the Year, Wrestler of the Year (2017) **List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Japan MVP, Japan MVP (2019) **Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Decade (2010s) **Best Matches of the Decade (2010s) **Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2021)


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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Okada, Kazuchika 1987 births Living people 21st-century professional wrestlers Chaos (professional wrestling) members IWGP Heavyweight champions IWGP World Heavyweight champions Japanese expatriates in Mexico Japanese male professional wrestlers People from Anjō Sportspeople from Aichi Prefecture