8 Reasons Why Kazuchika Okada Is #1 In This Year's PWI 500

8. His Excellent Win/Loss Record

Okada posted a record of 13 wins, 3 losses, and 2 draws during the qualifying period. That's not a huge volume, but NJPW don't tend to book a lot of singles matches outside the G1 Climax and major title fights, but his win percentage is high at 72%.

His record becomes even more impressive upon further analysis. Each of those singles losses took place in the G1 Climax tournament, in which upsets are commonplace, and NJPW's champions are often booked to lose as a way of setting up future title shots.

Two of those defeats were to Naomichi Marufuji and Bad Luck Fale, but Okada overcame both in the tournament's aftermath. He rarely takes the fall when competing in NJPW's many tag matches either, and is usually paired with a reliable pinfall-eater like Gedo or YOSHI-HASHI when the company decides his side need to lose.

Okada is very well protected in New Japan, but never obnoxiously so. When he loses, he loses cleanly, which makes each defeat feel like a more momentous occasion. His employers have booked him the way a top champion should be, which has not only enhanced is reign, but helped secure his position in the PWI 500.