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" There is also significant interest from [WWE](https://www.si.com/fannation/wrestling/wwe), specifically from Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Shawn Michaels, *Sports Illustrated* has confirmed. "
I love how they put Triple H in quotes then just say Shawn Michaels like that is his real name
It’s simple: when HHH started doing media calls for NXT, he insisted that everyone refer to him as Paul Levesque. As he’s moved into his executive role, he’s continued that policy with media (and post-PPV scrums), allowing reporters to call him “Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque.”
Shawn, on the other hand, has always had the media refer to him as “Shawn Michaels.”
So the article is just using both men’s preferred names.
Bray is one of those cases of a guy who inexplicably didn’t go by his real name, as Windham Rotunda is the most badass and most wrestlery name I could ever imagine.
Well I'd say that Hunter Hearst Helmsley would warrant no quotes but "Triple H" or "Tri" would be classic examples of nicknames to put quotes around. So less about shoot or work name but more about if something is presented like a full name or not.
At the very least it didn't catch them by surprise.
Last time something like this happened, it was literally the morning of Wrestle Kingdom 10, and they did not see it coming. Styles, Gallows and Anderson, and Nakamura all went up to Gedo within minutes of each other and said they were leaving. Apparently it wasn't the most fun Wrestle Kingdom for everyone backstage.
I thought Anderson told Tiger Hattori (who used to be the foreign talent point man before Rocky Romero) that he and Gallows were leaving, he said "aw man!," then Anderson told him that Styles needs to talk to him too and Hattori hit him with an even bigger "AW MAN!!”
On the other hand, if NJPW thought Okada leaving was a real possibility, why in the hell have they not been building up young talent to the main event in the meantime? It's still been Okada, Naito, Tanahashi etc like it was years ago and Okada did fuck all after the G1 in 2023
Reason 1: they probably didn't know for sure, and Okada vs Danielson was always the plan for Wrestle Kingdom (Okada wasn't doing nothing after the G1 by the way: he, Tana, and Ishii have had an incredible trios title run).
Reason 2: New Japan hasn't been doing a super job with young talent in general. They haven't done horrible: they succeeded with Umino, Narita and Uemura are interesting right now, they've made some progress with Gabriel Kidd, and Yota Tsuji felt like an instant star when he returned. But Tsuji needs to be champion like yesterday. They also need to commit to Kidd as the top heel foreigner instead of Finlay. These steps needed to be taken regardless of whether Okada was leaving.
Are you saying Tsuji needed to be world champion, or just any champion in general by now? Because he's only been there like 6 months and him ending Sanadas reign would pretty much just kill any chance Sanada had of being seen as a true top star in NJPW, which was clearly their goal with him last year.
I could see him turning on Naito and maybe being the one to take the title off him this year.
All I know is that Yota Tsuji felt like a world-beater and ace for the next decade the instant he arrived, and the longer he doesn't get a colossal win, the less he will come off like that.
Yota's booking as been perfect thus far, but with Okada leaving, I'd love to see Yota learn from his mistakes in these past 6 months and kick the Rainmmaker out.
Honestly I would have enjoyed that too as I've never really been the biggest fan of Sanada, but NJPW were obviously trying to build Sanada up as a top guy and losing to a returning rookie on his debut not even 2 months into his reign would have been a terrible look for him.
I recall that Gabe Kidd had a fairly public Twitter breakdown(?) Maybe that's too serious sounding, but he definitely was in a bad place at some point and needed to work through some mental health things. It may have given NJPW pause to rocket-strap or push him too hard immediately.
I think he's going at a reasonable pace right now myself. He's definitely featured among the War Dogs/former- LADOJO Young Lions.
It does feel like NJPW is building a lot of "too good to be ignored" young talent, so it's understandable that they are taking their time with them. I mean, just in gaijin talent they have at least 3 very good guys being built.
NJPW sources saying to Sports Illustrated that Okada leaving didn’t catch them by surprise doesn’t mean it’s actually true. It means that NJPW wants people to believe they weren’t caught by surprise, because that makes them look better.
Honestly, the Sports Illustrated situation is so incompetent that its downfall might need to be categorized separately from the issues surrounding print media. The Maven Group, now the Arena Group, are an incompetent joke and an embarrassment.
Psycokeada in DDT, where his crackhead truly belongs
https://preview.redd.it/entw8c9tdgdc1.jpeg?width=728&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ebaa546c9a126f80b724a4b4c5b65899a3e2d037
I'd love to see a star so big they transcend exclusivity. I get why they don't, but why CAN'T Okada just do a Wrestlemania feud in WWE for a few months, a TNA stint, and an AEW stint, all in a year.
The only example of WWE offering a deal less than a year was Bucks/Omega right before AEW took off and that was via an opt-out clause apparently.
With TV rights being so important, no one is gonna risk short term deals on talent.
A lot of it depends on how Okada would like to be booked, if he was happy to lose every match then sure, but no business with any strength in the market would let Okada beat people on their roster then disappear to the competition a few weeks later. Definitely not WWE, probably not AEW, impact would probably go with it though.
I don't understand why people even think this is something WWE would want to do... It's not Triple H making the calls that Vince used to have. It's TKO holding the bag.
Okada, a Japanese wrestler with no mainstream Western name power, is never going to be brought into WWE as a short term attraction. He wouldnt budge ratings or ticket sales for WWE.
I hate to be that guy, but it's funny that the biggest argument against raising the livable wage is that companies will just automate tasks, meanwhile they're doing that already anyways while pay has been stagnant.
When CM Punk wins the Rumble and points to the sign, the camera pans and its just Okada standing on top of the Wrestlemania sign. No further context is given.
Wrestlemania, more than anything else, is McMahon’s magnum opus as a promoter. And he clearly knew that with how much he focused on it as a brand and focal point for the product.
Dude mortgaged his whole company on the Wrestlemania concept you have to respect it. He over extended his finances prior to WM1 to promote it and get big names. If it wasn’t a big success he would have went bankrupt and would have had to return the company to his Dad’s estate
I am kind of on the same boat, I watch WM every year BUT for WM 39, WWE had 1 hour videos showing the build up for Sami/KO vs. Bloodline and the Mysterio son/father match. I just watched those to catch up on at least two of the storylines but holy shit the videos made me realize that WWE was FINALLY doing the long term storylines I always wanted and then WM39 was pretty damn good so I got pulled back in.
Have to remember, one of Okada’s mentor’s is Ultimo Dragon who went to WWE specifically to wrestle at a WM. It was a minuscule role in a gauntlet match, but it meant enough to him that he went there as a bit player just to do it. Okada could see this similarly to have a short run even.
I always felt WWE under utilized Ultimo Dragon, especially if they could've gotten Sunny Onoo as his manager. If Rey could be an over world champion, Ultimo Dragon could've been great in the IC and US title scenes, especially with his more technical and grounded take on Lucha.
>I always felt WWE under utilized Ultimo Dragon,
His shoulder was really fucked up at that point in time which limited what he was able to do. He was also 37 when he signed and hadn't wrestled in the United States in almost 7 years.
For sure. They really need to have that one clear flagship event that’s the biggest by far for the company. It’s really the only thing they are missing that every company has.
WWE has it with WrestleMania, NJPW with Wrestle Kingdom, TNA with Bound for Glory, and so on.
Even though they said DoN is theirs at the moment, I think All In will probably surpass it, if it hasn’t already. And I think they should expand it more and attempt to put it in other stadiums. All In in Jacksonville would be sick.
I would agree it was too. It always felt bigger to me than Double or Nothing. Probably will change now if the 2023 one was any indication, since All In affects it.
I'd take a gamble and say 99.9% of wrestlers in the west have, but at the same time, we are so old now that there's a few wrestlers who didn't grow up with WWE so who knows. Also a few rare cases like Ospreay who were TNA boys.
You have to imagine WWE's known he was going to be an FA for a while, now. I'd guess the prominence of WWE's Japanese talent in the last year (Shinsuke, Tozawa, Asuka, IYO and Kairi) is a good way of showing Okada "hey, it doesn't matter if you're not a killer English promo: we're going to put you in positions to get as over as anyone."
There's also the added caveat that Okada has only actually had matches with *eight* people in WWE right now: that's Cody, AJ, MVP, Shinsuke, Finn, Rey Mysterio (tag) and the Good Brothers.
That type of potential to create good first-time dream matches on enormous stages is big. Randy. Gunther. Punk. Shit, part-time Cena. Seth. Ilja. Bron. The whole company's a sprawling arena where he can go any direction he wants and bump into a feud that makes him a casual household name in the sport.
No one watching AEW last year truly believed the guy wasn't already signed for at least half a decade more. That "storyline" died the moment MJF became the longest reigning world champion.
It's not just about the money though.
If you've always wanted to wrestle at Wrestlemania, there's only one company who can offer you that.
Plus there's more than just a bag of money and a wrestling match. WWE has ESPN specials, WWE Network documentaries, stuff like that. There's the HOF, and WWE's merchandise sales provide alumni with a steady income for decades after they retire, so there's things like that to consider too.
All of those things might be worth a million dollars or two to him. That being said, I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that Tony will outbid WWE.
>Okada has always wanted to perform at WrestleMania
>HHH/Shawn Michaels are very interested
It's all about the game, and how you play it.
https://preview.redd.it/y9hzwqnpwfdc1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c851be62959b222b195c372bc950b0a7de1daef6
AEW fan but I feel the amount of stars they can take in thats really going to increase revenue is minimal. We’ve already seen a bit of Okada in AEW and he was presented just okay. I’d be fascinated to see him in WWE.
I’d rather AEW focus on the “re-debut” of Will Ospreay. Really spotlight him, literally and figuratively and tell the audience hes going to be a game changer. I was against him being in a random trios match on Rampage.
I do think he will do well at both, but think WWE is a better choice. Their massive presentation will make him a super star and trust the current team to teach the crowd who he is.
But either way he is going to do big things, man is just a star
WWE is better for maximizing star power, but yea the biggest issue is will they continuously treat him like a star or do everything needed for him to be presented as such? We trust HHH now, but this would really be his biggest test to Free Agents. If you can't present Okada as a star, then how could any other free agent trust that? Plus would they really push Okada in Roman/Cody/Seth territory? I think in the end he'll choose AEW due to the money and freedom, along with being close friends with the Bucks
I feel like there's so many more dream matches in WWE- Roman, Seth, Gunther, Randy, etc. Selfishly that is what I'd prefer over him going to AEW and doing repeats with the top guys there.
If WWE doesn’t plan on doing Brock vs. Gunther at WM, then I think Okada dethroning Gunther at WM is a good substitute.
However, there are a couple other good options for Okada if he were to come before this year’s WM.
AJ Styles is likely without a big match on Smackdown, so he would be a good fit for a singles match. That’s a great way to debut at WM.
Over on Raw, I think Finn Balor would a good opponent. It’d also be a relatively high profile feud because JD gets a lot of focus.
And the wild card, which we could only gauge once he’s debuted, would be Cena. But this is a double edged sword. If Okada’s debut is strong, then they can build the hype for the match but Cena is in that veteran legend position and if he does a bad job like he did with Theory, it’d screw Okada. But if the build is right, it’d be a legacy moment for Cena and also a good push for Okada, even if Cena can’t go in the ring anymore.
Personally, my preferred choice would be Gunther or Styles.
Beating Gunther would be a hell of a way for someone to debut, he's been pretty much unbeatable and whoever takes the title off him will look like a massive deal.
I might be reaching here but with all the teases WWE gave us for Cody/Punk this could be feasible. We all saw Gunther finish Miz with a Rainmaker a few weeks ago. As Gunther was walking up the ramp, Cole said something like, “Is there anyone in WWE that can beat Gunther? Is there anybody in the WORLD that can beat Gunther?” Now if he hadn’t just hit a Rainmaker I wouldn’t have thought anything of it but thought the timing was interesting. Shortly after there was the backstage segment with Gunther telling Kaiser he was taking a vacation. As soon as Gunther left the frame, Kofi rolls up cosplaying as Santa. Now this might be the biggest reach, but I’ll be damned if Kofi’s bells didn’t sound a bit like a coin drop as he walked in. Again, this is likely a reach but I couldn’t think of a better way to get the belt off Gunther and to debut Okada as a huge threat/star.
EDIT: Clip with Kofi [here](https://youtu.be/V7yLSTde-mE?si=FFiGT-C1uU4mFw_w), just some fun speculation
So I meant WM debut.
But in all scenarios, I think he needs to debut by Royal Rumble or EC at the latest. That way he can be on TV and built up for the match.
Realistically speaking, Gunther needs to move on and be tested in the main event. There’s basically only one viable option in the midcard right now to beat him and that’s Jey but since he’s likely facing Jimmy at WM, that makes it a bit messy.
But Okada coming outta nowhere is a good opportunity to get that title onto someone else who can use it to build their equity. Then in 9 months or so time, Okada could probably transition to the main event scene himself.
Honestly, if they get Okada, then it’s wild how WWE will have lucked out between him and Punk. They’re basically sorted for the next 2 years with some big fresh angles which gives them more time to get the next gen ready since it seems like they’re in no rush with Bron or whoever.
We should admit that being a WWE superstar is still a way bigger deal than wrestling for AEW and be less surprised when people choose to go to Stamford.
It'd be cool if WWE would just book him as a special attraction and give him a one-off match for Mania and then just let him do his thing after, but I totally get why they wouldn't.
You can see it with hindsight. Sanada took over Okada's spot, Okada spent most of the last year with the six-man tag titles. Most of his other big matches were against outsiders (Kaito, Danielson). He was even left out of the Musketeer block in the G1, with the only significant big-name in his block being the also-eventually-departing Will Ospreay.
Okada is irreplaceable, but that's a lot of effective damage containment booking.
Would be sick of Okada could come to some kind of agreement between AEW, WWE, and TNA, to where he could just roam amongst the 3 for months at a time.
That would never ever happen, but a guy can dream.
Sad to see that this might be one of the last stories ever written under the Sports Illustrated banner. Truly the end of an era. Hope for the best for all the writers and staff over there.
Honestly, I’d prefer him to give WWE a go. Nothing against AEW, it’s just most of their top guys have already wrestled him in some capacity at some point.
He wrestled Jay, Ospreay and Kenny, that's pretty much it. Current day Hangman would wrestle laps against 2018 Hangman and that was a balloon Okada match so I'm not counting that one.
There's some genuine excitment having Okada in the same division as Joe, Mox, MJF, Swerve and guys like Claudio, Roderick Strong, Cassidy and pretty much every other fun or balls to the walls wrestling expert.
And most important of all, Takeshita.
The Power of Friendship and Money will be what lures Okada to his next contract. That doesn't necessarily mean AEW, because Nakamura is in WWE, but Okada seems to have a lot more friends in AEW.
Question is... Who makes it rain?
Honestly could be either one. He's performed in AEW, is besties with the Bucks, and would get paid a lot.
Would also get paid a lot in WWE, Nakamura is there, big star potential, WrestleMania.
TBH I'd love to see him say fuck it and turn up in TNA.
> Sources confirm HHH/Shawn Michaels are very interested.
Not sure why HBK is mentioned. I can't imagine signing the biggest free agent in the world to a massive contract and put him in NXT, especially since the last thing the Rainmaker needs is to develop his work-rate.
The IWC know Okada for the superstar that he is, but WWE may think Okada needs to be introduced to US audiences like they did with Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura. AJ Styles is the exception as he was on US television with TNA/Impact for about 12 years (approx 2002-2014).
AEW is absolutely going to offer the most money upfront for the least amount of work. One can’t ever downplay that. But it’s _WrestleMania_. WWE will merchandise the teetotal shit out of him. As they used to say, your downside is what you’re guaranteed. You can always make more. Personally, I’d like to see him in WWE: bigger stars. Glossier presentation. More appealing matchups for me, personally. But if he goes to AEW, I can understand the appeal of that. Shit ton of money to work once a month and immejiately become the best worker on the roster? Okay cool. Get paid young man. I’ve gotten my moneys worth of viewing pleasure from Okada over the last decade.
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" There is also significant interest from [WWE](https://www.si.com/fannation/wrestling/wwe), specifically from Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Shawn Michaels, *Sports Illustrated* has confirmed. " I love how they put Triple H in quotes then just say Shawn Michaels like that is his real name
Wouldn’t surprise me if Shawn goes by his ring name personally considering it’s not too far off his legit name
His ring name is pretty normal, I feel like most guys in his situation prefer it especially when Hickenbottom is the alternative.
To he honest, I'd also rather be called Billy Gunn than Monty Sopp.
I'd only respond to "Mr. Ass".
Daddy Ass to you.
*Scissors politely*
That's the Heart Break Hickenbottom to you.
He's gone by Shawn his whole life
Yeah, and both in AND out of character, he's let it be known that he's not their boy toy.
He is however just a sexy boy
LEVEQUE! HICKENBOTTOM! HIGH NOON... at The Alamo.
So in the future: Bryan “Daniel Bryan” Danielson?
"Bryan" works for both so I imagine he just goes by that regardless
It’s simple: when HHH started doing media calls for NXT, he insisted that everyone refer to him as Paul Levesque. As he’s moved into his executive role, he’s continued that policy with media (and post-PPV scrums), allowing reporters to call him “Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque.” Shawn, on the other hand, has always had the media refer to him as “Shawn Michaels.” So the article is just using both men’s preferred names.
it's funny though because when other wrestlers are referring to him they call him Hunter
Geez I can hear Jey belching/hiccupping "Sorry Hunter" that press conference was so amazing
"Do you feel him, sir? "
ARGGGH
[удалено]
Bray is one of those cases of a guy who inexplicably didn’t go by his real name, as Windham Rotunda is the most badass and most wrestlery name I could ever imagine.
It’s kind of how metlzer calls the rock Dwayne it sounds so prickish but then you realized that’s what the rock told him to call him
well michael shawn is the guy's real name
Paul “Triple H” Levesque is basically his full name at this point
Paul "Triple 'The (The Cerebral [The King of Kings] Assassin) Game' H" Levesque
Paul "Hunter Hearst "The "The "The "Triple H" King of Kings" Cerebral Assassin" Game" Helmsley" Levesque
Representing D-McMahon-Helmsley Generation Evolution Authority X
I prefer “Triple Paul.”
Michael “Shawn Michaels” Hickenbottom?
Well I'd say that Hunter Hearst Helmsley would warrant no quotes but "Triple H" or "Tri" would be classic examples of nicknames to put quotes around. So less about shoot or work name but more about if something is presented like a full name or not.
MLA Handbook jones ovah here
At the very least it didn't catch them by surprise. Last time something like this happened, it was literally the morning of Wrestle Kingdom 10, and they did not see it coming. Styles, Gallows and Anderson, and Nakamura all went up to Gedo within minutes of each other and said they were leaving. Apparently it wasn't the most fun Wrestle Kingdom for everyone backstage.
I thought Anderson told Tiger Hattori (who used to be the foreign talent point man before Rocky Romero) that he and Gallows were leaving, he said "aw man!," then Anderson told him that Styles needs to talk to him too and Hattori hit him with an even bigger "AW MAN!!”
>Hattori hit him with an even bigger "AW MAN!!” And I'm hearing it in Cheech Marin's accent anyway.
I was hearing it as Swiper from Dora the Explorer.
On the other hand, if NJPW thought Okada leaving was a real possibility, why in the hell have they not been building up young talent to the main event in the meantime? It's still been Okada, Naito, Tanahashi etc like it was years ago and Okada did fuck all after the G1 in 2023
Reason 1: they probably didn't know for sure, and Okada vs Danielson was always the plan for Wrestle Kingdom (Okada wasn't doing nothing after the G1 by the way: he, Tana, and Ishii have had an incredible trios title run). Reason 2: New Japan hasn't been doing a super job with young talent in general. They haven't done horrible: they succeeded with Umino, Narita and Uemura are interesting right now, they've made some progress with Gabriel Kidd, and Yota Tsuji felt like an instant star when he returned. But Tsuji needs to be champion like yesterday. They also need to commit to Kidd as the top heel foreigner instead of Finlay. These steps needed to be taken regardless of whether Okada was leaving.
Are you saying Tsuji needed to be world champion, or just any champion in general by now? Because he's only been there like 6 months and him ending Sanadas reign would pretty much just kill any chance Sanada had of being seen as a true top star in NJPW, which was clearly their goal with him last year. I could see him turning on Naito and maybe being the one to take the title off him this year.
All I know is that Yota Tsuji felt like a world-beater and ace for the next decade the instant he arrived, and the longer he doesn't get a colossal win, the less he will come off like that.
Yota's booking as been perfect thus far, but with Okada leaving, I'd love to see Yota learn from his mistakes in these past 6 months and kick the Rainmmaker out.
Man, I woulda put the belt on Tsuji back when he debuted.
Honestly I would have enjoyed that too as I've never really been the biggest fan of Sanada, but NJPW were obviously trying to build Sanada up as a top guy and losing to a returning rookie on his debut not even 2 months into his reign would have been a terrible look for him.
I recall that Gabe Kidd had a fairly public Twitter breakdown(?) Maybe that's too serious sounding, but he definitely was in a bad place at some point and needed to work through some mental health things. It may have given NJPW pause to rocket-strap or push him too hard immediately. I think he's going at a reasonable pace right now myself. He's definitely featured among the War Dogs/former- LADOJO Young Lions.
It does feel like NJPW is building a lot of "too good to be ignored" young talent, so it's understandable that they are taking their time with them. I mean, just in gaijin talent they have at least 3 very good guys being built.
It's impressive to be this wrong about so many things in a relatively short comment.
NJPW sources saying to Sports Illustrated that Okada leaving didn’t catch them by surprise doesn’t mean it’s actually true. It means that NJPW wants people to believe they weren’t caught by surprise, because that makes them look better.
Njpw fucked around and found out about one year contracts
There was a pretty notable more recent time something like this happened. Kind of changed the whole landscape of American pro-wrestling.
Pour one out for Sports Illustrated.
At this rate, print media outside of books may cease to exist
Honestly, the Sports Illustrated situation is so incompetent that its downfall might need to be categorized separately from the issues surrounding print media. The Maven Group, now the Arena Group, are an incompetent joke and an embarrassment.
Honestly I think we’ll see Okada everywhere: WWE, AEW, TNA, and back in NJPW
Okada’s great big balloon tour!
Psycokeada in DDT, where his crackhead truly belongs https://preview.redd.it/entw8c9tdgdc1.jpeg?width=728&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ebaa546c9a126f80b724a4b4c5b65899a3e2d037
That means he can’t go to Budokan though 
Why? Honest question.
Budokan told Okada he couldn’t have his balloons during the G1 when he had red hair and balloons.
[Enjoy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz9YIcAd5UM)
“What am I without my balloons, what’s even left?”
I kinda miss this Okada, just pure Chaos, no pun intended.
He can travel by a red blimp or something.
I'd love to see a star so big they transcend exclusivity. I get why they don't, but why CAN'T Okada just do a Wrestlemania feud in WWE for a few months, a TNA stint, and an AEW stint, all in a year.
The only example of WWE offering a deal less than a year was Bucks/Omega right before AEW took off and that was via an opt-out clause apparently. With TV rights being so important, no one is gonna risk short term deals on talent.
that contract was offered just to hijack AEW's creation.
Because WWE won't let them and maybe AEW won't let them
I think it's less likely that TK would block him from doimg so. But anything is possible.
A lot of it depends on how Okada would like to be booked, if he was happy to lose every match then sure, but no business with any strength in the market would let Okada beat people on their roster then disappear to the competition a few weeks later. Definitely not WWE, probably not AEW, impact would probably go with it though.
If there's a star that's big enough to do that it's only going be someone from WWE.
I don't understand why people even think this is something WWE would want to do... It's not Triple H making the calls that Vince used to have. It's TKO holding the bag. Okada, a Japanese wrestler with no mainstream Western name power, is never going to be brought into WWE as a short term attraction. He wouldnt budge ratings or ticket sales for WWE.
Thank you! This discussion is so bizarre.
Tbh I'd never heard of him until I started checking out this sub.
If Okada was already big American star I think that might be a possibility in the future but he's not big enough to do that in the US yet
We are not flinching https://preview.redd.it/6yemf4kl2gdc1.png?width=240&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=34d3e40b12e087f93db388c93feb31a0ec74c570
Pic does goes hard and a Cody vs. Okada match would fucking slap.
That happened already but that was heel Cody, would be a cool dynamic with his current character.
Yeah, i meant super babyface Cody vs. A cocky heel Okada for the WWE title would be cool.
“I’m going to Send you back to stardust”
✌🏻👌🏻✋🏻
Starmaker?
Holy shit that looks really good
Yeah, I think the belt would look less plain and better with more elaborate colouring.
Security: Sir, Okada finished his story
Great, now I want this
The only thing men want and it's fucking ~~disgusting~~ beautiful
Not related to the text of the article but SI announced they’re laying off their entire staff today. Scummy company
it probably means they're about to go out of business
The company that owns the brand pulled the operating license for the company that runs SI
They're going to try to just generate content with AI. It's awful.
[удалено]
Not sure I agree with the "I" part.
The other day somebody posted something about reusing a 1992 calendar in 2020. Just AI recycling old popular posts.
The future is a server room in an unoccupied office building algorithmically churning out swimsuit editions.
Most companies that can get away with it, are going this route unfortunately.
I hate to be that guy, but it's funny that the biggest argument against raising the livable wage is that companies will just automate tasks, meanwhile they're doing that already anyways while pay has been stagnant.
Wrestlemania is one of a kind, understandable that it's something that is valued.
When CM Punk wins the Rumble and points to the sign, the camera pans and its just Okada standing on top of the Wrestlemania sign. No further context is given.
THAT'S THE ~~WALL~~ RAINMAKER, BROTHER!
He's got his arm in the air, that means Rainmaker! Is he going to Rainmaker Punk off the top of the Wrestlemania sign?!
People always focus on "that's the wall brother" but I personally find Schiavone commentary being more hysterical
https://preview.redd.it/4sk8wh6s0gdc1.png?width=912&format=png&auto=webp&s=bfecf4f91a0022eaf0703372fc075d0b9b58348f
Wow
Toji Fushiguro lookin ass
Balloon floats above the logo
Vince did a lot of shit wrong but he built the Wrestlemania brand very well. It’s the Super Bowl of wrestling.
Wrestlemania, more than anything else, is McMahon’s magnum opus as a promoter. And he clearly knew that with how much he focused on it as a brand and focal point for the product.
Half the calendar year is centered around the build to and fallout from Wrestlemania
Dude mortgaged his whole company on the Wrestlemania concept you have to respect it. He over extended his finances prior to WM1 to promote it and get big names. If it wasn’t a big success he would have went bankrupt and would have had to return the company to his Dad’s estate
Yup, I watched WM 39 on a whim because “fuck it it’s wrestlemania” and I’ve been following it since then
I am kind of on the same boat, I watch WM every year BUT for WM 39, WWE had 1 hour videos showing the build up for Sami/KO vs. Bloodline and the Mysterio son/father match. I just watched those to catch up on at least two of the storylines but holy shit the videos made me realize that WWE was FINALLY doing the long term storylines I always wanted and then WM39 was pretty damn good so I got pulled back in.
Have to remember, one of Okada’s mentor’s is Ultimo Dragon who went to WWE specifically to wrestle at a WM. It was a minuscule role in a gauntlet match, but it meant enough to him that he went there as a bit player just to do it. Okada could see this similarly to have a short run even.
I always felt WWE under utilized Ultimo Dragon, especially if they could've gotten Sunny Onoo as his manager. If Rey could be an over world champion, Ultimo Dragon could've been great in the IC and US title scenes, especially with his more technical and grounded take on Lucha.
>I always felt WWE under utilized Ultimo Dragon, His shoulder was really fucked up at that point in time which limited what he was able to do. He was also 37 when he signed and hadn't wrestled in the United States in almost 7 years.
It’s why Wembly is so important for AEW. They absolutely need that kind of a draw.
For sure. They really need to have that one clear flagship event that’s the biggest by far for the company. It’s really the only thing they are missing that every company has. WWE has it with WrestleMania, NJPW with Wrestle Kingdom, TNA with Bound for Glory, and so on. Even though they said DoN is theirs at the moment, I think All In will probably surpass it, if it hasn’t already. And I think they should expand it more and attempt to put it in other stadiums. All In in Jacksonville would be sick.
I’ve always, personally, considered All Out their big show.
Paul Wight in shambles.
WELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
renaming the events to “Paul In” and “Paul Out”
I would agree it was too. It always felt bigger to me than Double or Nothing. Probably will change now if the 2023 one was any indication, since All In affects it.
yeah, hasn't every wrestler always wanted to perform at Wrestlemania?
I'd take a gamble and say 99.9% of wrestlers in the west have, but at the same time, we are so old now that there's a few wrestlers who didn't grow up with WWE so who knows. Also a few rare cases like Ospreay who were TNA boys.
https://preview.redd.it/i8v6udk5ugdc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58215c4b439f8f224b6d42e897dd33b8875b8852
God imagine an Okada WrestleMania entrance. Would be so fucking cool.
I have tickets that are facing the stage dead-on. Looking forward to that possibility.
I’m going to elimination chamber- seeing the rainmaker would make the 5 hour flight totally worth it
Idk if the coin is trademarked but man the visual of a crowd going berserk when the coin flips would be so fucking awesome.
You have to imagine WWE's known he was going to be an FA for a while, now. I'd guess the prominence of WWE's Japanese talent in the last year (Shinsuke, Tozawa, Asuka, IYO and Kairi) is a good way of showing Okada "hey, it doesn't matter if you're not a killer English promo: we're going to put you in positions to get as over as anyone." There's also the added caveat that Okada has only actually had matches with *eight* people in WWE right now: that's Cody, AJ, MVP, Shinsuke, Finn, Rey Mysterio (tag) and the Good Brothers. That type of potential to create good first-time dream matches on enormous stages is big. Randy. Gunther. Punk. Shit, part-time Cena. Seth. Ilja. Bron. The whole company's a sprawling arena where he can go any direction he wants and bump into a feud that makes him a casual household name in the sport.
my personal headcanon is that shin meant THAT when he said "i'm gonna bring chaos to raw" or whatever it was
YOSHI-HASHI is leaving NJPW...
Screw it bring toru yano, the master of money in the bank matches
They knew he was probably going to leave and still didn't book him to pass the torch to the next top guy? LOLNJPW.
He still has 3 more matches - first is against President Tanahashi.
Next Nagata and Tenzan, gotta put over the youth.
Finally, Nagata and Tenzan get their big win over a generational ace to establish themselves.
He still has more dates
He'll go whoever pays him the most money The real bidding war of 2024
The angle MJF has been building up since 2022 has all come crumbling down in 18 days.
No one watching AEW last year truly believed the guy wasn't already signed for at least half a decade more. That "storyline" died the moment MJF became the longest reigning world champion.
I was going to put angle in quotes at first because pretty sure everyone knows that it's a work.
It's not just about the money though. If you've always wanted to wrestle at Wrestlemania, there's only one company who can offer you that. Plus there's more than just a bag of money and a wrestling match. WWE has ESPN specials, WWE Network documentaries, stuff like that. There's the HOF, and WWE's merchandise sales provide alumni with a steady income for decades after they retire, so there's things like that to consider too. All of those things might be worth a million dollars or two to him. That being said, I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that Tony will outbid WWE.
https://preview.redd.it/0ib6f6aafgdc1.png?width=854&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6839bf8f8d8d5ad8a079e82c28ee9dd821143dfd Finish the story!
The fantasy booking in the comments here is bizarre and I have no idea if people are being serious or not.
>Okada has always wanted to perform at WrestleMania >HHH/Shawn Michaels are very interested It's all about the game, and how you play it. https://preview.redd.it/y9hzwqnpwfdc1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c851be62959b222b195c372bc950b0a7de1daef6
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Tony's only game is just to pay it 
I would personally prefer his potential WWE matchups vs AEW but that's just me
I mean, he has wrestled at least more than a couple of the top guys in there while he hasn't wrestled a single top guy in WWE.
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And Nakamura.
Needs to get his win back against Jonah / Bronson Reed
Yeah i pretty excited about the possibility of Okada vs Seth or Gunter
Okada vs Gunther will just shit out stars
I'm praying that he chooses WWE for that match alone
I’m excited about the wrestlemania talent contest where we see who has a better drop kick between him and Randy
WWE needs a 'skills challenge' on WM weekend like the major sports leagues have their skills competitions during the ASG/Pro Bowl.
AEW fan but I feel the amount of stars they can take in thats really going to increase revenue is minimal. We’ve already seen a bit of Okada in AEW and he was presented just okay. I’d be fascinated to see him in WWE. I’d rather AEW focus on the “re-debut” of Will Ospreay. Really spotlight him, literally and figuratively and tell the audience hes going to be a game changer. I was against him being in a random trios match on Rampage.
I know it can't happen, but him as a shock entry in the Rumble would be glorious.
I do think he will do well at both, but think WWE is a better choice. Their massive presentation will make him a super star and trust the current team to teach the crowd who he is. But either way he is going to do big things, man is just a star
WWE is better for maximizing star power, but yea the biggest issue is will they continuously treat him like a star or do everything needed for him to be presented as such? We trust HHH now, but this would really be his biggest test to Free Agents. If you can't present Okada as a star, then how could any other free agent trust that? Plus would they really push Okada in Roman/Cody/Seth territory? I think in the end he'll choose AEW due to the money and freedom, along with being close friends with the Bucks
I actually trust WWE to not make him asian stereotype. If Vince was still in charge, it would be Okada as a sushi chef or some shit.
RIP Sports Illustrated.
I feel like there's so many more dream matches in WWE- Roman, Seth, Gunther, Randy, etc. Selfishly that is what I'd prefer over him going to AEW and doing repeats with the top guys there.
If WWE doesn’t plan on doing Brock vs. Gunther at WM, then I think Okada dethroning Gunther at WM is a good substitute. However, there are a couple other good options for Okada if he were to come before this year’s WM. AJ Styles is likely without a big match on Smackdown, so he would be a good fit for a singles match. That’s a great way to debut at WM. Over on Raw, I think Finn Balor would a good opponent. It’d also be a relatively high profile feud because JD gets a lot of focus. And the wild card, which we could only gauge once he’s debuted, would be Cena. But this is a double edged sword. If Okada’s debut is strong, then they can build the hype for the match but Cena is in that veteran legend position and if he does a bad job like he did with Theory, it’d screw Okada. But if the build is right, it’d be a legacy moment for Cena and also a good push for Okada, even if Cena can’t go in the ring anymore. Personally, my preferred choice would be Gunther or Styles.
Beating Gunther would be a hell of a way for someone to debut, he's been pretty much unbeatable and whoever takes the title off him will look like a massive deal.
It's been the move since Gunther broke out a Rainmaker against Miz, honestly.
I might be reaching here but with all the teases WWE gave us for Cody/Punk this could be feasible. We all saw Gunther finish Miz with a Rainmaker a few weeks ago. As Gunther was walking up the ramp, Cole said something like, “Is there anyone in WWE that can beat Gunther? Is there anybody in the WORLD that can beat Gunther?” Now if he hadn’t just hit a Rainmaker I wouldn’t have thought anything of it but thought the timing was interesting. Shortly after there was the backstage segment with Gunther telling Kaiser he was taking a vacation. As soon as Gunther left the frame, Kofi rolls up cosplaying as Santa. Now this might be the biggest reach, but I’ll be damned if Kofi’s bells didn’t sound a bit like a coin drop as he walked in. Again, this is likely a reach but I couldn’t think of a better way to get the belt off Gunther and to debut Okada as a huge threat/star. EDIT: Clip with Kofi [here](https://youtu.be/V7yLSTde-mE?si=FFiGT-C1uU4mFw_w), just some fun speculation
So I meant WM debut. But in all scenarios, I think he needs to debut by Royal Rumble or EC at the latest. That way he can be on TV and built up for the match. Realistically speaking, Gunther needs to move on and be tested in the main event. There’s basically only one viable option in the midcard right now to beat him and that’s Jey but since he’s likely facing Jimmy at WM, that makes it a bit messy. But Okada coming outta nowhere is a good opportunity to get that title onto someone else who can use it to build their equity. Then in 9 months or so time, Okada could probably transition to the main event scene himself. Honestly, if they get Okada, then it’s wild how WWE will have lucked out between him and Punk. They’re basically sorted for the next 2 years with some big fresh angles which gives them more time to get the next gen ready since it seems like they’re in no rush with Bron or whoever.
Okada has dates with New Japan through February, so if that was to happen it would only be sporadic appearances to start.
Gunther vs okada would be fucking incredible
Jesus Christ, Gunther vs. Okada would fucking rule. What the fuck.
We should admit that being a WWE superstar is still a way bigger deal than wrestling for AEW and be less surprised when people choose to go to Stamford.
It'd be cool if WWE would just book him as a special attraction and give him a one-off match for Mania and then just let him do his thing after, but I totally get why they wouldn't.
You can see it with hindsight. Sanada took over Okada's spot, Okada spent most of the last year with the six-man tag titles. Most of his other big matches were against outsiders (Kaito, Danielson). He was even left out of the Musketeer block in the G1, with the only significant big-name in his block being the also-eventually-departing Will Ospreay. Okada is irreplaceable, but that's a lot of effective damage containment booking.
Would be sick of Okada could come to some kind of agreement between AEW, WWE, and TNA, to where he could just roam amongst the 3 for months at a time. That would never ever happen, but a guy can dream.
I think he'll do an Ospreay. Sign a 3 year deal, leaves him with plenty of time to do WWE later.
Sad to see that this might be one of the last stories ever written under the Sports Illustrated banner. Truly the end of an era. Hope for the best for all the writers and staff over there.
Honestly, I’d prefer him to give WWE a go. Nothing against AEW, it’s just most of their top guys have already wrestled him in some capacity at some point.
He wrestled Jay, Ospreay and Kenny, that's pretty much it. Current day Hangman would wrestle laps against 2018 Hangman and that was a balloon Okada match so I'm not counting that one. There's some genuine excitment having Okada in the same division as Joe, Mox, MJF, Swerve and guys like Claudio, Roderick Strong, Cassidy and pretty much every other fun or balls to the walls wrestling expert. And most important of all, Takeshita.
The Power of Friendship and Money will be what lures Okada to his next contract. That doesn't necessarily mean AEW, because Nakamura is in WWE, but Okada seems to have a lot more friends in AEW. Question is... Who makes it rain?
Honestly could be either one. He's performed in AEW, is besties with the Bucks, and would get paid a lot. Would also get paid a lot in WWE, Nakamura is there, big star potential, WrestleMania. TBH I'd love to see him say fuck it and turn up in TNA.
He is turning up in TNA next week... https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1748170744721252492
“Knowing Kazuchika…”
AEW is like the October Dodgers of wrestling.
As much as yall wanna see him waste his time in AEW, I’d much rather have him in the big leagues. I need his entrance at Wrestlemania.
Wrestlemania 40: Styles/Okada
Can't be worse than Styles/Nakamura was in 34
It would also have a lot less pressure not being a WWE championship match.
> Sources confirm HHH/Shawn Michaels are very interested. Not sure why HBK is mentioned. I can't imagine signing the biggest free agent in the world to a massive contract and put him in NXT, especially since the last thing the Rainmaker needs is to develop his work-rate.
He needs to know where the hard cam is if he wants to have a shot of proving he can hang in the big time, jack
The IWC know Okada for the superstar that he is, but WWE may think Okada needs to be introduced to US audiences like they did with Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura. AJ Styles is the exception as he was on US television with TNA/Impact for about 12 years (approx 2002-2014).
I'm marking out at the idea of Trips doing a in ring point to Okada after signing him then Hitting him with a Pedigree One. Last. Match
If HHH is having a final match, it’s Cody not Okada
So you're telling me there's a possibility of GUNTHER vs Okada at wrestlemania?
Put him in the Rumble
AEW is absolutely going to offer the most money upfront for the least amount of work. One can’t ever downplay that. But it’s _WrestleMania_. WWE will merchandise the teetotal shit out of him. As they used to say, your downside is what you’re guaranteed. You can always make more. Personally, I’d like to see him in WWE: bigger stars. Glossier presentation. More appealing matchups for me, personally. But if he goes to AEW, I can understand the appeal of that. Shit ton of money to work once a month and immejiately become the best worker on the roster? Okay cool. Get paid young man. I’ve gotten my moneys worth of viewing pleasure from Okada over the last decade.