This Sunday, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will return to the USA with Fighting Spirit Unleashed. In the main event, Chaos members Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii will take on the Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi).
The former IWGP Heavyweight champion recently spoke with the NJPW website and recalls his reaction to the promotion expanding into the U.S. back in 2017. Like many, Okada had his reservations about how well the company would do in a different setting:
“Honestly, I had some reservations at first. I wondered ‘can we really sell enough tickets here?’ But I thought it was good that we were taking a first step into something new.”
Okada discussed why it's important that NJPW keep their style in America, stating that he wants the fans to recognize what made them a huge wrestling promotion back in Japan:
“Right. Cards that make you say ‘now this is NJPW’. To me, I think we should be showing the American fans what this thing called New Japan Pro Wrestling is.”
Okada revisits his experience at “ALL IN” earlier this month:
“It was awesome. Of course, it was great to have a match in front of about 12,000 people, and it was amazing to think ‘wow, Cody and the Bucks were able to put all this together’. It was a great card, I had a good match, it all showed the power of pro wrestling I think. For them to have their little YouTube channel, start Being The Elite, and have it grow into that, get that many people in the building, that’s amazing. I really felt that we saw new potential in professional wrestling. Really great.”
To check out the full interview,
click here.