NJPW/WWE News: Kazuchika Okada says NJPW's "far superior" to WWE

What’s the story?

Kazuchika Okada compared New Japan Pro Wrestling to the WWE in an interview with Pro Wrestling Illustrated and said that the promotion was “far superior” to the WWE when it comes to the in-ring product.

In case you didn’t know...

The current IWGP Heavyweight Champion has been having one of the best championship reigns in years, with wrestling fans and pundits praising him for the consistency of his match quality.

Okada’s three match series with Kenny Omega has been hailed as some of the greatest wrestling of all time and is even considered by some to have surpassed the trilogy between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat in 1989.

Okada also made history this year by becoming the first wrestler not signed with an American promotion to be ranked No.1 in the PWI 500.

The heart of the matter

Okada was asked whether he would be interested in wrestling for the WWE, which led him to note the big differences between NJPW and the Land of the Giants.

“New Japan is far superior to WWE when it comes to the quality of the roster and the quality of the matches. One thing I will say is that I do pay attention to what Finn Balor, AJ, and Nakamura are doing, and they look like they’re having fun. I might want to wrestle them again someday, but I might want to do that in New Japan.”

What’s next?

Okada’s next appearance is scheduled to take place on Sep. 10, 2017, and will be the first of three shows for NJPW Destruction.

The IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions won’t be defended, but the rest of NJPW’s title will be up for grabs at various points during the shows.

Author’s take

The comparisons between NJPW and WWE’s in-ring products aren’t even close for 2017 with many fans considering the NJPW the best in-ring product in the world, whilst heavily criticising WWE.

The first half of the year goes to NJPW, but there’s no telling which promotion will have the better product by the end of the year.