New Japan Pro-Wrestling superstar Kazuchika Okada has named the three wrestlers – apart from himself - he reckons are the best in the world. The current IWGP heavyweight champion is on a historic run, having held his belt for well over 700 days, and he will be defending it against the exciting Kenny Omega at the upcoming Dominion show in Osaka, Japan on June 9, 2018.
Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso recently caught up with the 30-year-old to discuss his amazing run, among other things, and he made some intriguing revelations.
“It’s been a hell of a run so far. I’ve had some incredibly tough matches, but I think it’s all meant I could show the level of competition there is for the IWGP title, and why it’s the pinnacle of wrestling,” Okada remarked.
Okada’s lengthy reign is no small feat, given the stern competition in the NJPW promotion. And when one takes the fact that the WWE hasn’t had a champion hold a title that long since the four-year Hulk Hogan run that was ended by Andre the Giant in 1988 into consideration, it's even more impressive.
Asked his thoughts on the best three active wrestlers excluding himself, Okada replied: “Kenny, [Tetsuya] Naito, and [Will] Ospreay. Aside from myself, those three are what makes NJPW the best promotion in the world.”
“Kenny is tough, he’s strong, he’s awesome; I think all those things are pretty obvious, he added. “The thing with him is that with the power of NJPW World, he’s been able to get such a following worldwide. The whole world has their hopes pinned on him and that’s a definite X-factor.”
Most of today’s wrestlers would be expected to have had at least one role model growing up. But apparently, no one really left that great of an impression on Okada.
“I wouldn’t say I really admired anyone,” he admitted with a laugh. “When I was a kid there were definitely a lot of tough guys, but they weren’t really cool. If anything, that was an influence on me; to take that toughness and combine it with the cool style, the cool entrance, the cool gear—and driving to work in a Ferrari."
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