10 Surprising Wrestling Inspirations

7. Kazuchika Okada (Kato - The Green Hornet)

Kenny Omega Vince McMahon
Impact Wrestling/NJPW

Good old TNA.

Good old occasionally catastrophic TNA.

Nobody - nobody - thought Gedo had the right idea bringing back Kazuchika Okada as Hiroshi Tanahashi's first post-Wrestle Kingdom VI IWGP Championship opponent, but just because it took one of wrestling's finest ever bookers to spot his insane potential it doesn't mean another company should just squander a talent completely.

That was the story of Okada's time in the Impact Zone. Barely recognisable from the familiar 'Rainmaker' during the entirety of his near-two year excursion, his most drastic aesthetic change came after 12 months or so when he almost wholesale took on the look of Kato from The Green Hornet series. In line with that, TNA changed his name to "Okato", but it didn't make a profound difference to his lowly place on the card.

Okada was just another marginalised Japanese wrestler with another hackneyed gimmick. So much so that "inspiration" in the title of this list feels like a misnomer. Gedo's inspiration was ingenious - Okato was unwanted theft.

In this post: 
Kenny Omega
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett