AEW Continental Champion “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada spoke with Tokyo Sports on a number of topics, including how he has adjusted to being in AEW.
Okada said, “I wanted to put in the effort. That’s something I can’t do in Japan. Here, I have to do completely different things, like speak English, so that’s fun. The number of matches has decreased a lot, but the number of things that aren’t matches has increased a lot, so I feel it’s rewarding.”
On a possible rematch with Kenny Omega:
“I don’t know what the situation will be like, and it’s not impossible that he’ll be in a bad shape after returning. He’s just recovered from an illness, so I think it would be good if he could take his time and get himself in shape.”
On what he wants people to notice about him now:
“I’d like people to watch AEW, not Kazuchika Okada. There are a lot of good wrestlers, and they’re all cool. There’s a great atmosphere, so I hope people will realize how fun AEW is.”
On why he did not appear at Wrestle Dynasty:
“I can’t really say anything about it (laughs bitterly). Whether I get an offer or not is another matter, but I don’t think it’s the right time yet. I quit with the feeling that I would never compete again (in Japanese matches). If I were to go back while I was feeling like I wanted to fight well in the US, then something might have changed in my feelings. I don’t have any intention of competing in a single match, so that’s the feeling I had when I went to the US.”
