Kazuchika Okada Criticises NJPW Management After Wrestle Kingdom 20 (AEW News)
AEW star puts over Tony Khan as a boss whilst bashing New Japan's upper management.
AEW's Kazuchika Okada has bashed New Japan's "upper management" for the way they handled wrestlers during the recent Wrestle Kingdom 20 special at Tokyo Dome. During a now-archived livestream via NJPW's official website, Okada said that nobody from the office told him "good job" following his match with the retiring Hiroshi Tanahashi.
In fact, not one soul said a thing to him afterwards.
Okada didn't really like that, and he noticed that management steered clear of the talent generally. There wasn't much interaction between office and roster, which Kazuchika pointed out is incredibly different to the way Tony Khan handles things over in the US for All Elite.
Khan is very hands-on with wrestlers, and gives feedback (both good and bad) on their matches/segments almost immediately. He's a permanent presence behind the curtain at AEW shows, as expected, and that's something Okada has come to expect from those calling the shots.
He seemed slightly taken aback that this isn't the norm in New Japan. Okada described their response to everything as "crickets". There was no handshaking, no nods of approval and certainly no verbal feedback on which matches worked and which ones didn't.
It was radio silence from those in charge of the show.
Explaining, Kazuchika added: "It's a small thing, but it matters". He'd like some sort of reaction from higher-ups on his performances, and he obviously thought such a grand occasion as Tanahashi's send off deserved a bit more focus or appreciation. He reckons that's totally missing from New Japan in the modern era.