If you’re a fan of professional wrestling, you would no doubt be aware that Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada recently put on one of the most entertaining matches of wrestling's modern era. While WWE is still very much the juggernaut when it comes to sports entertainment, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) is gaining in popularity every day.
With a couple of high-profile US shows scheduled for early next month, and the recent announcement that NJPW will be holding a tournament of their very own United States Championship very soon, it looks as though the US market has been set firmly within the sights of the Japenese giant.
If fans are exposed to more feuds and matches like the ones we have seen between Omega and Okada, who knows what the future will hold.
Here are five questions from Okada Vs. Omega we would most like answering right now:
#1 Was it better than their first?
Back in January, we saw the 11th edition of Wrestle Kingdom, one of New Japan’s most important shows of the year. Okada and Omega met in the main event, and it’s safe to say, the match was received very well indeed. Wrestling Observer’s own Dave Meltzer gave the match six out of five stars, his own little way of saying that the bout was incomparable to anything we’ve seen from any wrestling company in the past few years.
When the rematch was announced, fans were understandably interested, but as we all know, sometimes follows ups, whether they are wrestling rematches, second albums or sequels to films, can often end up disappointing a very excited audience.
Wrestling rematches are tricky; on the one hand, the action has to be noticeably better than the first for fans to feel like it was worth seeing again. If the match merely rivals the original in terms of the in-ring action, for example, the whole thing can come across as a bit regretful. On the other hand, rematches have the added advantage of having more context surrounding them.
Think back to Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker at Wrestlemania 26. The two legends had put on an instant classic one year prior to that bout, so the WWE had to make sure their Mania 26 match made sense in terms of the overall story. Michaels ended up putting his career on the line because, in his eyes, the only thing left for him to do in his career was to end the Undertaker’s undefeated streak. because in his eyes, the only thing left for him to do in his career was to end The Undertaker’s undefeated streak.
The only option for New Japan, therefore, was to place Omega in a similar position. In comparison to their first meeting in January, Okada worked this match much more as a babyface. The idea of getting behind someone who is striving to achieve something he was so close to achieving at the last time of asking is a much easier narrative for fans to follow. The main event of Dominion was not merely the result of two in-ring masters thrown together, it was the next step in a complex and emotionally charged story.
In terms of in-ring action alone, a very strong case could be made for the Dominion bout to be everything as good as their first at Wrestle Kingdom. From bell to bell, however, the WK match might have just pipped its rival to the post. It was a better-worked wrestling match overall, even though it was lacking some of the energy and emotion of the second instalment.
Wrestling is subjective, after all, so it’s maybe not possible to answer this question directly. But it will no doubt prove to be a debate that continues for some time.
#2 What will become of Bullet Club?
As if this match couldn’t get any more interesting by itself, there were even some talking points for fans to mull over after the final bell had rung. Part way through the match, the Bullet Club came to ringside, led by Cody. The American Nightmare was holding a towel and threatening to throw it in to effectively call off the match.
On the surface, this seemed to be because Cody and the rest of the Club were concerned for Omega’s well-being. He had taken one too many Rainmakers and drop-kicks and was visibly struggling to stay on his feet.
There were strange scenes taking place, with The Young Bucks deploring Cody not to end the match, claiming that Kenny was not done and just needed a bit of time to get his bearings back. When Omega finally did make a dramatic comeback, the crowd exploded, as did many homes across the US and the rest of the world. And while the fans’ attention were directed back at the in-ring action at this point, we couldn’t help but ask ourselves what Cody’s game plan was.
Earlier in the night, Cody had challenged Okada, following his victory against Michael Elgin. In the post-match interview, Cody would again get in Okada’s face, seemingly setting up a title match for the G1 special next month. Could this be the start of a potential rift in Bullet Club? Was Cody secretly hoping for Okada to get the win so that he could have his turn against the Ace of Japanese wrestling?
While it is still early days, the Cody vs. Okada match, should it take place, will be filled with extra intrigue considering what we saw on Sunday night. What if the Nightmare does find a way to defeat Okada for the belt before Omega was able to accomplish this himself? Would this give Cody an excuse to challenge for the leadership of Bullet Club?
There are certainly many questions to be answered here, which will keep New Japan fans talking in the run-up to the G1 special, Stateside.
#3 Should it have been Omega going for the pin at the end?
Nothing in this life is 100% perfect. That doesn’t mean that certain things can’t be spectacular. As much as fans are still rightfully praising this match, one of the objections to it was that for storyline purposes, it maybe should have been Omega going for the pinfall right before the time limit expired.
Having the two of them wrestle to a 60-minute draw was a stroke of genius by NJPW. If Okada had beaten Omega for the second time, a lot of the wind would have been zapped from the rivalry, with fans clearly wanting to see more of it. Most of all, it makes their third match an near certainty.
Neither of them will be happy to leave the feud where it is, Okada will want to prove that he is still the Ace, despite his rather gruelling schedule of late. Omega, in his own right, will want to finally get his hands on the IWGP Title and fulfil his dream of leading NJPW into a new age.
So when the last few seconds of the match were being counted down, it was a little surprising to see Omega on his back while Okada was struggling to capitalise on his finishing move and make the pinfall. If it had been Omega crawling towards the fallen body of Okada, the story would have been that Omega was going to beat his rival, if only he had had more time. It would have elevated Kenny’s position in the company as well, being the man who would have beaten the Ace if there had been no time limit.
This is probably just nit-picking. Fans are still very much looking forward the Omega vs. Okada III, and the 60-minute draw has set this up very nicely.
#4 Does Omega even need the WWE anymore?
For the first time since the turn of the century, we are definitely living in an era in which professional wrestlers can become stars without the help of the WWE. Ever since the defeat of WCW in the Monday Night Wars, the typical formula for an independent wrestler was to make a bit of a name for yourself and then wait patiently for somebody at Titan Towers to spot you. With the rise in popularity of wrestlers like The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, that formula has been thrown out of the window.
In terms of money and international recognition, the WWE is still probably the place to be. If you’re making all the right moves in TNA or ROH and want to expand your brand, it would be incredibly difficult to turn down an offer from the McMahons.
But there is now an upper echelon of stars that could just as easily build a legendary career in the Far East instead. Even when you look at the competitors that have recently come over to WWE from Japan, like Finn Balor, AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, it seems as though they’d already ‘made it’ before arriving, and the WWE was just another playground for them to showcase their talents.
And as we all know, coming to WWE isn’t always the dream it is made out to be. While a wrestler might be able to excel on the indie scene, dealing with the WWE Universe, with its strange mix of fans and their bias towards big muscle-bound monsters, is another matter altogether. This is why a lot of fans fear seeing The Young Bucks sign with WWE, for example.
What if the management there don’t really get the point of the team, or maybe large sections of the WWE audience won’t respond well to such a flamboyant duo shouting catchphrases throughout their matches. When it comes to being an immensely popular independent or Japanese based wrestler, sometimes it’s better to keep things as they are.
When it comes to Kenny Omega, in particular, all of this does apply, but there is even more going on. Omega’s relationship with NJPW is now probably the most exciting thing in Wrestling. I don’t think there is anyone in either WWE, ROH or TNA that fans want to see win a championship more than Kenny Omega. When he finally does get his hands on the belt, it will be one of those timeless moments to rival some of the biggest and most iconic title wins in history.
If Omega was to move to WWE, you just couldn’t tell that kind of a story with him. It is right in saying that fans would certainly want to see him win the WWE or Univeral Championship one day, but would it hold the same level of emotional significance compared to where he’s at currently?
Also, this is a time in which NJPW is harbouring some very real and potentially game-changing ambitions. If the company does increase its foothold in the States, who knows what might happen to the international wrestling scene. Would WWE’s long-held hegemony finally be broken? Would other companies be tempted to try their hands at expansion too?
If NJPW is serious about doing this, they will need Kenny Omega at the forefront. He is an English speaker who already appeals to large sections of the US audience. Seeing him compete against guys like Naito, Tanahashi and Kushida will elevate their profiles even more and bring new US subscriptions to New Japan World.
There’s an old saying that goes, ‘it’s better to be half way up a ladder you want to climb than be at the top of one you don’t’. And considering where NJPW is going at the moment, it might be that much more tempting to stick than to twist right now.
#5 When are we doing this again?
There was almost half a year separating Wrestle Kingdom and Dominion. Will we be waiting a similar amount of time for the next instalment of the Omega Okada Trilogy? Fans are no doubt ready for it to happen straight away, and wouldn’t be at all upset if the thing was announced for next month. But good things do come to those who wait, and it looks like there is still quite a lot of storytelling ahead of us before we get there.
Omega will need to go away, work out why he couldn’t get the win, despite coming to a lot closer than his first attempt, and work his socks off in order to get where he needs to be. Okada will have other title challenges to deal with, including one from Kenny’s fellow Bullet Club member, Cody.
NJPW could tease us even more by waiting until Wrestle Kingdom 12 before completing the story, but that might be a tad too long to wait. You need to keep the momentum going, which is why they would be wise to hold the third match before the summer is out.
It all depends on what they choose to do with Bullet Club, of course, but as exciting as a Bullet Club split is, fans just want to get back to the matter at hand and see whether The Cleaner can finally achieve his dreams and conquer the Ace of Japan.
