8 Reasons Why Kazuchika Okada Is #1 In This Year's PWI 500
1. His Importance To NJPW
"Prominence within a wrestler's individual promotion(s)" is one of the PWI 500's key criterion, and while the likes of Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito will sometimes be called upon to headline big events, Okada is NJPW's pre-eminent star.
As IWGP Heavyweight Champion, he is the man around which the company's most important storylines are built. Nobody is more protected, nobody is given a bigger spotlight, and nobody has more trust as a draw. His current run with belt is NJPW's longest reign in over 20 years, and given the fact that he's not even 30 yet, there's no reason to believe he won't eventually become the most decorated wrestler in the promotion's history.
Okada supplanted Hiroshi Tanahashi as New Japan's ace in January 2016, and the company haven't looked back since. There'll be times when he is cycled out of the spotlight, but the bookers will always come back to him, and he'll never be too far away from the IWGP Championship. His track record more than justifies the monster push, too.
Okada is both New Japan's present and future. His departure would rock the company, and while the likes of AJ Styles are definitely bigger international stars, none of Okada's PWI rivals can say they're as prominent within their home promotion.