Where Kazuchika Okada stands today, Randy Orton stood a decade ago -- Okada's the young, charismatic, good-looking, talented star who stands primed to inherit an entire kingdom. One can argue that Orton never exactly made good on that prophecy (and that he's not a performer on the level of Okada), but the parallels between Okada's present and Orton's past are undeniable. The dynamic would create a scenario where both men have something to prove -- Orton would want to show that experience trumps youth (and that, by extension, he's better now than he was at Okada's age) and Okada would want to make it perfectly evident that he's a one of a kind talent, not to be compared to anybody. The buildup to the contest would show both men hungrier than they've ever been. Okada's agility for his size would likely surprise Orton, but then again, the reverse might be true -- after all, it's not very often that Okada faces someone taller than himself. Okada would probably outwrestle "The Viper" initially, but Orton would eventually slow the pace down and subdue the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion with stomps and chinlocks. In the end, both opportunists would be looking for a single opening, a second where they can hit their devastating finishers. Orton may have the edge in that department -- a ducked Rainmaker turns into an RKO quite easily -- but don't count Okada out. With so much glory on the line, the match isn't likely to end that easily.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
