Predict 2018 for Okada

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

He wins the end.

But seriously, what do you think his year will look like?

Right now there's really no one on the horizon who can take the belt off him assuming they don't rematch him and Naito sometime this year so you have a champion with a wide open field of competitors

I wouldn't mind seeing guys like Ishii, Jericho or even Tanahashi again if he can get healthy. Assuming Okada does lose the belt this year, that puts him right at the top of winning the G1 because no way he doesn't main event WK

Gedo should take more chances as far opponents this year for Okada because at this point you really don't want him being Naito and Omega 3 and 4 times while they only got one W over him.

[The Spelunker!]

He loses the belt to someone not Naito. That way Naito still has a chance to avenge his Wrestlekingdom loss at the next one. Gives NJPW a chance to try a couple other people out near the top of the card and keep Okada busy either trying to chase down another shot or in the tag division. I'm also predicting some kind of Chaos split.

[chrom]

The only record left to break is Tanahashi's most successful IWGP defenses of 12, I say he breaks that.

[Fade]

I think he definitely loses it to someone in the upcoming months and wins the G1, walking into WK13 as challenger against the Champion, Naito.

[Big Poppa Pumpkin]

Jan 6, 2018 18:24:04 GMT -5 Fade said:

I think he definitely loses it to someone in the upcoming months and wins the G1, walking into WK13 as challenger against the Champion, Naito.

This is what I would guess also, I wonder who that interim champion would be if it happens. I'd love to see Ishii get a run as champ and then drop it to Naito at KoPW.

[The Kevstaaa]

The entire company revolves around him.
Like it did in 2017.
And 2016.
And 2015.
And 2014.
And 2013.
And 2012.

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

Jan 6, 2018 18:24:04 GMT -5 Fade said:

I think he definitely loses it to someone in the upcoming months and wins the G1, walking into WK13 as challenger against the Champion, Naito.

Yea, it's a matter of who do you have the one to beat Okada because the money seems to be on Omega or Naito walking into WK champ but I can't see either guy winning the belt

Could they do something outside the box and have Cody beat Okada like AJ did, maybe but AJ was on a completely different level than Cody

In regards to Omega I wonder if NJ is being cautious with him in regards to winning the belt. They don't want to have him win the belt and than skate off to WWE not to long after losing it but there's also a matter of contract which idk how his works out with them.

[OVO 40 hunched over like he 80]

Why fix what ain't broken? He's your meal ticket.

Hiroshi Tanahashi is probably the greatest performer ever to come out of New Japan. He stayed when NJPW meant less than nothing and when Brock Lesnar left with the belt. He stayed when Shibata and others left. He's the reason why New Japan still exists. But he's also 41 and is slowing down.

Naito is charismatic as f*** and is just entering his prime. Unfortunately he has to share the locker room with Okada who's better. He's the Randy Savage of njpw.

Omega you can't count that he's gonna stay long term there. He's also older and has a lower upside than Okada.

Kazuchika Okada is a one in a generation superstar. It doesn't matter who you put him up with he's gonna sell out. He's got it, the intangible that makes a superstar and separates him from the rest of the locker room.

You keep Okada on top until he's old and the houses start going down, then you find your next Ace.

[The Spelunker!]

Jan 6, 2018 18:34:06 GMT -5 Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) said:

Jan 6, 2018 18:24:04 GMT -5 Fade said:

I think he definitely loses it to someone in the upcoming months and wins the G1, walking into WK13 as challenger against the Champion, Naito.

Yea, it's a matter of who do you have the one to beat Okada because the money seems to be on Omega or Naito walking into WK champ but I can't see either guy winning the belt

Could they do something outside the box and have Cody beat Okada like AJ did, maybe but AJ was on a completely different level than Cody

In regards to Omega I wonder if NJ is being cautious with him in regards to winning the belt. They don't want to have him win the belt and than skate off to WWE not to long after losing it but there's also a matter of contract which idk how his works out with them.

SANADA or Evil, to tease LIJ tension having one of his friends do what he couldn't. Kenny Omega to finally break their tie, Ibushi or Cody, to one up Omega. Jay White, when he defeats Okada and takes over Chaos. There's a few very plausible answers.

[Urethra Franklin]

Honestly, I think there’s a decent chance he drops the title to SANADA.

[corndog]

Jan 6, 2018 19:51:09 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

Why fix what ain't broken? He's your meal ticket.

Hiroshi Tanahashi is probably the greatest performer ever to come out of New Japan. He stayed when NJPW meant less than nothing and when Brock Lesnar left with the belt. He stayed when Shibata and others left. He's the reason why New Japan still exists. But he's also 41 and is slowing down.

Naito is charismatic as f*** and is just entering his prime. Unfortunately he has to share the locker room with Okada who's better. He's the Randy Savage of njpw.

Omega you can't count that he's gonna stay long term there. He's also older and has a lower upside than Okada.

Kazuchika Okada is a one in a generation superstar. It doesn't matter who you put him up with he's gonna sell out. He's got it, the intangible that makes a superstar and separates him from the rest of the locker room.

You keep Okada on top until he's old and the houses start going down, then you find your next Ace.

Savage had a year long title reign when Hogan was still the man. Naito got 70 days. It's actually worse.

[Urethra Franklin]

Jan 6, 2018 23:14:12 GMT -5 corndog said:

Jan 6, 2018 19:51:09 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

Why fix what ain't broken? He's your meal ticket.

Hiroshi Tanahashi is probably the greatest performer ever to come out of New Japan. He stayed when NJPW meant less than nothing and when Brock Lesnar left with the belt. He stayed when Shibata and others left. He's the reason why New Japan still exists. But he's also 41 and is slowing down.

Naito is charismatic as f*** and is just entering his prime. Unfortunately he has to share the locker room with Okada who's better. He's the Randy Savage of njpw.

Omega you can't count that he's gonna stay long term there. He's also older and has a lower upside than Okada.

Kazuchika Okada is a one in a generation superstar. It doesn't matter who you put him up with he's gonna sell out. He's got it, the intangible that makes a superstar and separates him from the rest of the locker room.

You keep Okada on top until he's old and the houses start going down, then you find your next Ace.

Savage had a year long title reign when Hogan was still the man. Naito got 70 days. It's actually worse.

Sure, there are guys much older than him working full schedules, but Naito is 35. He’s white-hot right now and the window to capitalize on him isn’t going to be open forever. I hope Gedo realizes that.

[Deleted]

I hope he has a Sammartino run. They can bring in vets, freelancers, build guys within but Okada retains and holds until they can raise 3-4 next gen guys ready to step up.

[BitterAF]

Kenny drops US title to White.
Bullet Club/Elite split
Cody beats White for US title in Long Beach
Kenny beats Okada for the title in Long Beach
Okada and White feud because Bullet Club/Elite split and now Okada doesn't have the title White wanted. Okada beats White in the finals of the G1
Build Okada up to WK where he falls short to Kenny.

[Tea & Crumpets]

Jan 6, 2018 19:51:09 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

Why fix what ain't broken? He's your meal ticket.

Hiroshi Tanahashi is probably the greatest performer ever to come out of New Japan. He stayed when NJPW meant less than nothing and when Brock Lesnar left with the belt. He stayed when Shibata and others left. He's the reason why New Japan still exists. But he's also 41 and is slowing down.

Naito is charismatic as f*** and is just entering his prime. Unfortunately he has to share the locker room with Okada who's better. He's the Randy Savage of njpw.

Omega you can't count that he's gonna stay long term there. He's also older and has a lower upside than Okada.

Kazuchika Okada is a one in a generation superstar. It doesn't matter who you put him up with he's gonna sell out. He's got it, the intangible that makes a superstar and separates him from the rest of the locker room.

You keep Okada on top until he's old and the houses start going down, then you find your next Ace.

People keep saying this but I just don't see it. Don't get me wrong Okada is a great talent but I don't see what makes him THE guy over Naito or Omega.

In ring? Okada/Naito don't click but Omega/Okada and Omega/Naito were all phenomenal. I honestly think Omega is better.

Mic? Charisma? Naito has it in spades and I'd argue Omega has an edge too. Again Okada is good but not AS good.

Look? Yeah he's got the look. But so does Omega. Naito isn't exactly a shlub either.

Okada is fantastic but genuinely 3rd place IMO. Besides he's younger than both but already done all there is to do on top. Give Naito a chance while you can. Give Omega a chance while he's here. Okada endlessly on top will grow very stale. I'd argue it already has. They're already running out of options with him they can't keep him on top for another 6-7 years.

If this was WWE everyone would call it awful superman booking ala "Vince's crush on Roman" but for some reason Gedo's crush on Okada gets a free pass. It was Naito's time and no retroactive justifications change that.

Honestly I predict Okada breaks Tanahashi's record, wins the G1, and becomes the first G1 winner to win the title at WK13 just to make it 100% clear that neither Omega or Naito are on his level. Sadly.

[OVO 40 hunched over like he 80]

Jan 7, 2018 10:36:34 GMT -5 Tea & Crumpets said:

Jan 6, 2018 19:51:09 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

Why fix what ain't broken? He's your meal ticket.

Hiroshi Tanahashi is probably the greatest performer ever to come out of New Japan. He stayed when NJPW meant less than nothing and when Brock Lesnar left with the belt. He stayed when Shibata and others left. He's the reason why New Japan still exists. But he's also 41 and is slowing down.

Naito is charismatic as f*** and is just entering his prime. Unfortunately he has to share the locker room with Okada who's better. He's the Randy Savage of njpw.

Omega you can't count that he's gonna stay long term there. He's also older and has a lower upside than Okada.

Kazuchika Okada is a one in a generation superstar. It doesn't matter who you put him up with he's gonna sell out. He's got it, the intangible that makes a superstar and separates him from the rest of the locker room.

You keep Okada on top until he's old and the houses start going down, then you find your next Ace.

People keep saying this but I just don't see it. Don't get me wrong Okada is a great talent but I don't see what makes him THE guy over Naito or Omega.

In ring? Okada/Naito don't click but Omega/Okada and Omega/Naito were all phenomenal. I honestly think Omega is better.

Mic? Charisma? Naito has it in spades and I'd argue Omega has an edge too. Again Okada is good but not AS good.

Look? Yeah he's got the look. But so does Omega. Naito isn't exactly a shlub either.

Okada is fantastic but genuinely 3rd place IMO. Besides he's younger than both but already done all there is to do on top. Give Naito a chance while you can. Give Omega a chance while he's here. Okada endlessly on top will grow very stale. I'd argue it already has. They're already running out of options with him they can't keep him on top for another 6-7 years.

If this was WWE everyone would call it awful superman booking ala "Vince's crush on Roman" but for some reason Gedo's crush on Okada gets a free pass. It was Naito's time and no retroactive justifications change that.

Honestly I predict Okada breaks Tanahashi's record, wins the G1, and becomes the first G1 winner to win the title at WK13 just to make it 100% clear that neither Omega or Naito are on his level. Sadly.

Jerry Jarrett said that Vince McMahon taught him an invaluable, "narrow and focus the spotlight."

There were much better workers than Hogan and Austin, probably even better promos and charisma. Unfortunately they didn't have that intangible factor that you can't put into words. There's only one spot as the main attraction.

Yeah you're right that Okada's booking got stale, they'll probably switch the belt to a transitional champ but at the end they'll return to him. There's just something about the guy. Some magnetism. If this was a movie he would be the leading man with top billing.

He's a generational talent. There's always one that breaks away from the pack. First was Inoki, then Hashimoto, then it should've been Yuji Nagata but Inoki ruined it, then it was Tanahashi. Now it's Okada's run.

Unfortunately for Naito and Omega they're this generation Mutoh and Chono to Okada's Hashimoto.

[Deleted]

Jan 7, 2018 11:10:20 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

Jan 7, 2018 10:36:34 GMT -5 Tea & Crumpets said:

People keep saying this but I just don't see it. Don't get me wrong Okada is a great talent but I don't see what makes him THE guy over Naito or Omega.

In ring? Okada/Naito don't click but Omega/Okada and Omega/Naito were all phenomenal. I honestly think Omega is better.

Mic? Charisma? Naito has it in spades and I'd argue Omega has an edge too. Again Okada is good but not AS good.

Look? Yeah he's got the look. But so does Omega. Naito isn't exactly a shlub either.

Okada is fantastic but genuinely 3rd place IMO. Besides he's younger than both but already done all there is to do on top. Give Naito a chance while you can. Give Omega a chance while he's here. Okada endlessly on top will grow very stale. I'd argue it already has. They're already running out of options with him they can't keep him on top for another 6-7 years.

If this was WWE everyone would call it awful superman booking ala "Vince's crush on Roman" but for some reason Gedo's crush on Okada gets a free pass. It was Naito's time and no retroactive justifications change that.

Honestly I predict Okada breaks Tanahashi's record, wins the G1, and becomes the first G1 winner to win the title at WK13 just to make it 100% clear that neither Omega or Naito are on his level. Sadly.

Jerry Jarrett said that Vince McMahon taught him an invaluable, "narrow and focus the spotlight."

There were much better workers than Hogan and Austin, probably even better promos and charisma. Unfortunately they didn't have that intangible factor that you can't put into words. There's only one spot as the main attraction.

Yeah you're right that Okada's booking got stale, they'll probably switch the belt to a transitional champ but at the end they'll return to him. There's just something about the guy. Some magnetism. If this was a movie he would be the leading man with top billing.

He's a generational talent. There's always one that breaks away from the pack. First was Inoki, then Hashimoto, then it should've been Yuji Nagata but Inoki ruined it, then it was Tanahashi. Now it's Okada's run.

Unfortunately for Naito and Omega they're this generation Mutoh and Chono to Okada's Hashimoto.

Totally agree with this. Okada is just...better (this is all absolutely subjective, and some will obviously totally disagree). Naito just falls short and Omega has impressed me more this past week than ever before, but he's not in Okada's league.

[Tea & Crumpets]

Jan 7, 2018 11:10:20 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

Jan 7, 2018 10:36:34 GMT -5 Tea & Crumpets said:

People keep saying this but I just don't see it. Don't get me wrong Okada is a great talent but I don't see what makes him THE guy over Naito or Omega.

In ring? Okada/Naito don't click but Omega/Okada and Omega/Naito were all phenomenal. I honestly think Omega is better.

Mic? Charisma? Naito has it in spades and I'd argue Omega has an edge too. Again Okada is good but not AS good.

Look? Yeah he's got the look. But so does Omega. Naito isn't exactly a shlub either.

Okada is fantastic but genuinely 3rd place IMO. Besides he's younger than both but already done all there is to do on top. Give Naito a chance while you can. Give Omega a chance while he's here. Okada endlessly on top will grow very stale. I'd argue it already has. They're already running out of options with him they can't keep him on top for another 6-7 years.

If this was WWE everyone would call it awful superman booking ala "Vince's crush on Roman" but for some reason Gedo's crush on Okada gets a free pass. It was Naito's time and no retroactive justifications change that.

Honestly I predict Okada breaks Tanahashi's record, wins the G1, and becomes the first G1 winner to win the title at WK13 just to make it 100% clear that neither Omega or Naito are on his level. Sadly.

Jerry Jarrett said that Vince McMahon taught him an invaluable, "narrow and focus the spotlight."

There were much better workers than Hogan and Austin, probably even better promos and charisma. Unfortunately they didn't have that intangible factor that you can't put into words. There's only one spot as the main attraction.

Yeah you're right that Okada's booking got stale, they'll probably switch the belt to a transitional champ but at the end they'll return to him. There's just something about the guy. Some magnetism. If this was a movie he would be the leading man with top billing.

He's a generational talent. There's always one that breaks away from the pack. First was Inoki, then Hashimoto, then it should've been Yuji Nagata but Inoki ruined it, then it was Tanahashi. Now it's Okada's run.

Unfortunately for Naito and Omega they're this generation Mutoh and Chono to Okada's Hashimoto.

This is what I don't get though. I don't see that intangible it in Okada to the same level. Naito? In absolute spades. Omega? Maybe. Hell I see it in Hiromu Takahashi and even Sanada. But Okada it's just.....He's great but he doesn't have that X Factor to me, or at least not as much as Naito. I wish I felt it cos I'd enjoy NJPW so much more then.

[Deleted]

He'll drop the belt to Kenny at Dominion, Kenny will drop it to Naito sometime before now and January, Okada wins the G1 to rematch Naito

[Deleted]

Jan 7, 2018 11:18:25 GMT -5 Tea & Crumpets said:

Jan 7, 2018 11:10:20 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

Jerry Jarrett said that Vince McMahon taught him an invaluable, "narrow and focus the spotlight."

There were much better workers than Hogan and Austin, probably even better promos and charisma. Unfortunately they didn't have that intangible factor that you can't put into words. There's only one spot as the main attraction.

Yeah you're right that Okada's booking got stale, they'll probably switch the belt to a transitional champ but at the end they'll return to him. There's just something about the guy. Some magnetism. If this was a movie he would be the leading man with top billing.

He's a generational talent. There's always one that breaks away from the pack. First was Inoki, then Hashimoto, then it should've been Yuji Nagata but Inoki ruined it, then it was Tanahashi. Now it's Okada's run.

Unfortunately for Naito and Omega they're this generation Mutoh and Chono to Okada's Hashimoto.

This is what I don't get though. I don't see that intangible it in Okada to the same level. Naito? In absolute spades. Omega? Maybe. Hell I see it in Hiromu Takahashi and even Sanada. But Okada it's just.....He's great but he doesn't have that X Factor to me, or at least not as much as Naito. I wish I felt it cos I'd enjoy NJPW so much more then.

This is kind of the beauty and frustration of being a wrestling fan, There is nearly always something for everyone in any promotion. We'll all find guys we like and guys we don't, and a lot of the time it's the intangibles that make the difference, which is brilliant because it means we can all be entertained in some way or other.

What sucks is when the guy we like isn't on top or guy we don't like is. Naito I can take or leave, but Omega on top would kill my enthusiasm for NJPW, but I totally understand and empathise that it must suck for someone who feels the opposite.