10 Wrestlers Who Left And Returned More Badass

4. Kazuchika Okada

Super Liger Chris Jericho
NJPW

NJPW's excursion philosophy is superb.

The methodology is simple: train a Young Lion in the the in-house style, limit their move-set, and make them visually indistinguishable to their peers. The minutiae has to stand out, the fire, the inherent quality. Those that do are rewarded with an excursion, to develop their persona and repertoire, and upon their return, they are received as stars. This reception expedited their adventures overseas in the first instance.

Kazuchika Okada was loaned to TNA for this reason, and it's a good job he is a genius and didn't much require it, because TNA took the man who would become the greatest of all time, at 32 years old, and made him into a racist caricature because Vince Russo likes watching the telly, f*cking hell.

He returned in 2012 as the Rainmaker - an affluent playboy prodigy of a wrestler who matured literally overnight en route to capturing the IWGP Heavyweight Title in a monumental shocker. Okada is known for a great many of his attributes, since he is endlessly brilliant - his athleticism, ability to structure so many lengthy matches, psychology, aura.

But all of this started with a sickening Tombstone piledriver to the outside - a badass flex with which he changed the trajectory of entire companies.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!