Backstage Reaction To Kazuchika Okada's AEW Arrival

How has the Rainmaker's burgeoning AEW run been received so far?

by Andrew Pollard
Kazuchika Okada Young Bucks New Elite
AEW

With Kazuchika Okada having now officially become #AllElite, turned heel, and literally joined the Elite, there's now a backstage update on how the Rainmaker's AEW arrival has been received so far.

Via Fightful Select, Okada's performances on last week's Dynamite and Collision were considered home runs, with his facial expressions in particular garnering praise, in addition to AEW officials being "very happy" with the backstage interviews and segments that featured the 36-year-old.

The idea to turn Kazuchika Okada heel was one Tony Khan had as far back as the holiday season, with the AEW President under the belief that Okada can be a top villain on US wrestling TV. This belief was only solidified with Kazuchika's two showings from last week. Along with this, once it was discovered several months ago that Kenny Omega was to be sidelined for an indefinite amount of time, it was decided that the Young Bucks would fire the Best Bout Machine from the Elite.

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For what's being dubbed the New Elite, Khan was extremely confident that the Bucks and Okada would have plenty of chemistry together, and the hope is that the seven-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion will be able to do something a little different to what had been seen from him in New Japan Pro-Wrestling over the years.

On one final note, it was deemed important for Kazuchika Okada to debut immediately after Sting's retirement so that AEW has another big name on the roster to help fill the void left by the legendary Stinger. Of course, Sting called time on his career at AEW Revolution on Sunday 3 March, and Okada re-debuted on AEW TV the following Wednesday.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.