Former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada has revealed the origins of his signature move.
Since returning from his brief stint in TNA/Impact Wrestling, the NJPW star has returned to the Rainmaker persona that got him over as one of the top talents in the Japanese promotion. His signature move – which is essentially a lariat clothesline – has given him wins over top tier wrestlers such as Kenny Omega, Tetsuya Naito, and Kota Ibushi; but how did the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion come up with the name “The Rainmaker”?
During a recent interview on the New Japan Pro-Wrestling website, the 32-year-old spills the beans on the origins of his finisher and according to Okada himself, The Rainmaker name comes from a popular American phrase:
"But to make a long story short, it’s this American phrase connected to people that can come into a company and instantly make a ton of money for them, and I thought it would be a cool fit for me in NJPW. So it became my nickname. And then to make sure it was used and that brand of mine got strengthened, I made it the name of my finish, too," Okada said.
Okada also details why he chose a lariat clothesline as his finisher, which is thanks to seeing it in America and thinking it was cool:
"As for the move itself, you see that wrist clutch and extension quite a lot in lucha libre; I can’t remember the match, but I remember seeing it in America and thinking it looked cool. And I always thought something leading to a lariat would be a cool finish, so one was added to the other," Okada said. "Well, it just came down to thinking which would have more impact. Unleashing everything through a lariat like that is more powerful, I thought. Then again, if it were the other way round; if I used the lariat first time out, then the neckbreaker did more damage, then the Rainmaker would be very different today."