Former World Champion Says He Doesn’t Have ‘That Much Time Left’ As A Wrestler

AEW

Former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada has stated that he doesn’t think he has long left as an active competitor.

With seven heavyweight title wins, four G1 Climax tournament victories, and two New Japan Cups to his name, it is clear to see why many consider Okada as the true ace of NJPW.

Speaking with Number Web, Okada opened up about a previous conversation he had with the late Antonio Inoki, before stating that he ultimately wants to surpass the NJPW founder in terms of expanding the company globally.

Noting that he’s wrestling on limited time, Okada said:

“People might say, ‘It’s impossible to surpass Mr. Inoki,’ but I think we have no choice but to make pro wrestling more exciting.

“First of all, when Mr. Inoki was competing, we were able to fill Tokyo Dome to capacity. After getting the number of spectators back, and now that we have video distribution on the internet, we would like to spread the word about professional wrestling in a different way.

“Mr. Inoki used to be focusing on overseas strategy and trying to bring New Japan’s professional wrestling to the world, but now times have changed and there are many New Japan fans overseas through the Internet.

“I would like to go beyond what Inoki-san has done in that way. I don’t think I have that much time left as an active (competitor) either, so I want to do my best. 

(Translated from Japanese) 

Okada notably made several appearances for AEW earlier this year, ahead of his match against Bryan Danielson in the main event of AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door in June.

Danielson is also currently preparing to step away from the ring, with the popular star recently indicating that he has one more year as a full-time competitor left in him.

Bryan Danielson has now shared a list of dream opponents, which you can read about right here.

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• Future
• retirement
• Kazuchika Okada
• NJPW

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