At Wrestle Kingdom 14, Kazuchika Okada had the tough task of defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kota Ibushi on night 1 and then Tetsuya Naito on night 2.
The former multi-time champ is no stranger to grueling schedules within New Japan Pro-Wrestling as Okada has competed in the G1 Climax tournament on several occasions; however, Okada has never fought in back-to-back matches that have lasted nearly 80 minutes in total, which to the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, was simply too much:
“I think putting the IWGP up two nights running wasn’t the right thing in the end.” Okada said in the njpw interview. “Well, maybe the fans liked it, and the company will say ‘hey, we did it’, but in actual practical fact, it was too much. Too much physical punishment, a lot of mental strain as well. I don’t want anyone thinking that it was an easy undertaking at all.”
Okada isn’t making excuses for why he ultimately lost to Tetsuya Naito after their great back-and-forth encounter; however, the 32-year-old believes that both matches took its toll on his body and it’s not something that he would like to do again:
“Doing one of those matches in itself is one thing, but to get back after the fourth, and then have to think ‘oh man, I have to go again tomorrow’. I’m not going to make excuses for why I lost here, but two big singles matches, and not just that, two Tokyo Dome main event level matches back to back is not something I’d be in favour of again.”
Check out the full interview where Okada talks about not wrestling due to the coronavirus, whether he views this time as vacation, and so much more!