Kazuchika Okada Is A Wrestling Genius

And yes, while Okada will roar and show fire, when he's about to lunge into that final, match-winning Rainmaker lariat, his aloof, dominant character allows his opponent to carry the emotional weight of his matches. This, combined with his real-life personality - so laidback that "Lil' Kazu" has become an irreverent meme - has only added to that one-dimensional stigma. Very recently, it was thought Okada had peaked.

He has already worked the established, fading NJPW headliner crew countless times. He was shown up at Wrestle Kingdom 17; the seminal, drawn-out annihilation of Will Ospreay at the hands of Kenny Omega, a perfect match, was infinitely better than Okada's main event with Jay White. Okada's redemption could only scan as a worn cliché in contrast. Too young to lose, too tenured to draw major interest, he was stuck in an uninteresting loop.

The best wrestlers roar back into form when people doubt them. That is what differentiates the geniuses from the merely excellent. Within seconds over this past weekend, Okada proved that the middle phase of his career will be as sensational as the beginning.

At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohoma Arena, an event NJPW promoted in collaboration with Pro Wrestling NOAH, Okada teamed with Togi Makabe to wrestle an inter-promotional match against GHC Heavyweight champion Kaito Kiyomiya and Yoshiki Inamura. Thought to be an interesting if predictable affair, in which either veteran Makabe or rising powerhouse Inamura would take the pin, it was exponentially better and more shocking than that. At last year's NJPW/NOAH super-show, Okada patronised Kiyomiya before, alongside Hiroshi Tanahashi, defeating him and Keiji Muto in the main event.

Kiyomiya did not forget.

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