Kazuchika Okada Details Huge NJPW Plans Scrapped By COVID-19 Pandemic

Kazuchika Okada has opened up about huge New Japan Pro-Wrestling plans that were unfortunately scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Okada will face Jay White at the Tokyo Dome on January 4, in the main event of NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 17 event.

In recent years, NJPW has found itself expanding into the west more often, including the recent two night Royal Quest show in London, featuring the tag team epic between FTR and Aussie Open.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Okada confirmed NJPW performing in Madison Square Garden was affected by the pandemic:

“Wrestling in MSG is one of my greatest memories. I don’t think I’ll ever forget looking out into that crowd as I made my entrance. We had plans to return in 2020 that had to be cancelled because of the pandemic, but I would absolutely love to be back in MSG someday.”

NJPW and Ring of Honor held their joint G1 Supercard in the World’s Most Famous arena back in 2019. Okada won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event of the show, dethroning, ironically, Jay White.

NJPW returned to New York for the first time since the pandemic began for the Rumble On 44th Street event on October 28. The event took place in the Palladium Times Square.

NJPW was not the only company who had to change their plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic; WWE famously held the 2020 edition of WrestleMania in the WWE performance centre with no crowd present. The event also began the ongoing trend of holding WrestleMania over two consecutive evenings.

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