Kazuchika Okada 5 time IWGP Heavyweight Champion

[chrom]

The Rainmaker reclaimed the top of the mountain last night to begin his 5th reign as Champion.

Also the first time its ever changed hands on foreign soil

[Spider2024]

I wonder what it's like to be The Rainmaker.

[Deleted]

I know there is a portion of the audience that aren’t down at all for this, but I’m thrilled. A g1 run and eventual title matches against Naito and, possibly, Ibushi will be awesome.

Now if it’s another 2 year run, not down for that. But Okada winning in MSG was the right call for me and paid off the Okada-White feud that’s been building up the last 16 months.

[Mozenrath]

I think it was probably necessary. I don't think Jay is at a level where he's going to be getting 3 wind over Okada in a row, not yet. He's young, and this was him making it to the top, but while he's the Bullet Club ace, he's not THE Ace, not yet.

I'd be annoyed, but with Naito losing the IC title, it seems like a pretty clear path towards vindication for him. Here's hoping Gedo takes it this time.

(Also, maybe give Naito a new finisher that he could hit on someone who just got home from daycare, and they wouldn't still kick out twice before the match ends)

[Deleted]

Apr 7, 2019 12:11:46 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

I think it was probably necessary. I don't think Jay is at a level where he's going to be getting 3 wind over Okada in a row, not yet. He's young, and this was him making it to the top, but while he's the Bullet Club ace, he's not THE Ace, not yet.

I'd be annoyed, but with Naito losing the IC title, it seems like a pretty clear path towards vindication for him. Here's hoping Gedo takes it this time.

(Also, maybe give Naito a new finisher that he could hit on someone who just got home from daycare, and they wouldn't still kick out twice before the match ends)

Nah, this ends with Naito finally hitting the Stardust Press and bringing his, god, 5 year story to a close.

[The Kevstaaa]

Gedo going right back to the status quo?

I am shocked.

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

Apr 7, 2019 13:07:23 GMT -5 The Kevstaaa said:

Gedo going right back to the status quo?

I am shocked.

I still can't wait to hear about how "Well, the slump's not over, Okada's 93.9% win rate is still as weak as he's ever been!" That said, I'm all for getting the belt off Edgelord McKnifeystab, so eh, this is a push for me.

[HMARK Center]

When I'd think about the match in the abstract I'd want White to win because it felt like there were more twists that could be taken with him keeping the belt awhile longer.

That said, sitting the arena I couldn't care less about "status quo" or whatever, Okada winning was as loud and electric as I've seen and felt a wrestling crowd of that size get and I was all in for it.

[chrom]

Okada is money and as long as he's selling out places he's going to be on top.

You don't end The MCU after The Avengers premiered

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

Apr 7, 2019 15:20:16 GMT -5 chrom said:

Okada is money and as long as he's selling out places he's going to be on top.

You don't end The MCU after The Avengers premiered

I’m fine with Okada winning myself, other then being mildly annoyed at Kenny Omega spoiling it. Although, he probably assumed the plans would change.

And honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a short run anyways.

[Natural Born Farmer]

Apr 7, 2019 12:06:01 GMT -5 Spider2024 said:

I wonder what it's like to be The Rainmaker.

He stores it in boxes with little yellow tags on every one. You can go and see them when he’s done.

[Dub H]

Apr 7, 2019 13:40:02 GMT -5 HMARK Center said:

When I'd think about the match in the abstract I'd want White to win because it felt like there were more twists that could be taken with him keeping the belt awhile longer.

That said, sitting the arena I couldn't care less about "status quo" or whatever, Okada winning was as loud and electric as I've seen and felt a wrestling crowd of that size get and I was all in for it.

The status quo is not bad if its working. I dont keep closely with NJWP,but I doubt its the case like in WWE where the status quo drops more viewers each year

[cmhunk]

Apr 7, 2019 12:23:36 GMT -5 @flaminghalo said:

Apr 7, 2019 12:11:46 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

I think it was probably necessary. I don't think Jay is at a level where he's going to be getting 3 wind over Okada in a row, not yet. He's young, and this was him making it to the top, but while he's the Bullet Club ace, he's not THE Ace, not yet.

I'd be annoyed, but with Naito losing the IC title, it seems like a pretty clear path towards vindication for him. Here's hoping Gedo takes it this time.

(Also, maybe give Naito a new finisher that he could hit on someone who just got home from daycare, and they wouldn't still kick out twice before the match ends)

Nah, this ends with Naito finally hitting the Stardust Press and bringing his, god, 5 year story to a close.

Yep, the whole story with Naito has been his refusal to accept his past failures and move on. The true end is him finally accepting his past and winning at the Dome.

[HMARK Center]

Apr 7, 2019 17:56:45 GMT -5 Dub H said:

Apr 7, 2019 13:40:02 GMT -5 HMARK Center said:

When I'd think about the match in the abstract I'd want White to win because it felt like there were more twists that could be taken with him keeping the belt awhile longer.

That said, sitting the arena I couldn't care less about "status quo" or whatever, Okada winning was as loud and electric as I've seen and felt a wrestling crowd of that size get and I was all in for it.

The status quo is not bad if its working. I dont keep closely with NJWP,but I doubt its the case like in WWE where the status quo drops more viewers each year

Pretty much: business has been going up for them both domestically and abroad with Okada on top. There's definitely an argument to be made that another super long reign for him right now isn't the answer, especially since there isn't a big lineup of fresh challengers for him right now after all the guys he went through before, but it's highly doubtful there isn't some kind of plan in mind here, whatever it ends up being.

[Starshine]

You have to look at the MSG show in a bubble for this match. They couldn't close with White beating Okada, that would have just left the show on a sour note (which in that regard, the ROH contingent didn't need a whole lot of help with). Were this just you regular run of the mill New Japan US show, sure. There's a good argument to White keeping the belt. But with it being MSG, knowing the historical significance of that building, and the fact that running the building was sending a message to WWE, they needed to hit a complete home run and close it on a high note.

Now where they go here, I don't know. I'd hope they shake some thing up a bit. Disband Chaos for a start, and give guys like Ishii a shot at Okada, as well as others who have never really been given a proper one. I think their business will be fine, he drew huge during his last run, and with the big Naito match obviously on the horizon, there's a meaningful goal to this reign. It's just a matter of filling in the gaps until then.

[chrom]

If this was some run of the mill US show than yeah White would've retained, but with it being The Garden and eighteen thousand plus fans there in the biggest week of wrestling, the right call was made

[honsou]

I remember being pretty...I wouldn't say anti Okada but really wanting him to lose the title near the end of the previous reign but almost as soon as he lost it I was hoping for him to get back into the picture. And good lord did I pop hard when he won the belt.

[HMARK Center]

Apr 7, 2019 19:51:32 GMT -5 honsou said:

I remember being pretty...I wouldn't say anti Okada but really wanting him to lose the title near the end of the previous reign but almost as soon as he lost it I was hoping for him to get back into the picture. And good lord did I pop hard when he won the belt.

I feel like there's so many ways that Tanahashi and Okada, in their respective runs on top, could be described as "Cena done right", and I think this is part of it. While Tanahashi pulled off the beloved babyface ace champion character better than most other wrestlers in recent memory, with Okada you have to think about what the perception of Cena was among the fans. CM Punk cut the famous promo where he compared Cena with the Yankees, but he had the right idea - during his prime John Cena didn't "beat the odds", John Cena WAS the odds.

NJPW fully embraced that during Okada's last reign; he WAS the odds, the boss at the end of the game, the ultimate obstacle to your favorite wrestler attaining glory. He wasn't beating all these guys because he hated them or was a complete jerk, he was doing it because he's Kazuchika Okada, and you would have to move heaven and earth to dethrone him. Tanahashi got his record 11 defenses because the story was "get behind Tanahashi as he makes history!" Okada got that record because "Okada is better than you, deal with it."

This meant that, frankly, Okada wasn't meant to be cheered in many of his title defenses. You were supposed to want to see his opponent win, and to keep buying tickets in the hope you'd be there when the switch finally happened. But in the end, even if the crowd was sad that Omega, Shibata, EVIL, SANDA, Tanahashi, or Naito didn't win, they still ended up giving Okada his props, because the dude was that damn good. And when Omega DID beat him, it meant a ton.

And now that he spent time away from the belt, those crowds have come around to cheering Okada a lot more vocally, so that's likely going to be one way in which this new reign will be different from the last. Still, like I said I still feel like there's a dearth of new ready challengers for him after how many guys he went through last time (plus going through most of CHAOS to win the NJ Cup), so I can't say I have any idea how this is going to be done.

[Mozenrath]

I would argue that I don't think status quo is fair. Jay White DID move way the f*** up in the pecking order, even with this loss. "Former champion" does mean a lot for his credibility, especially in NJPW where that's a pretty select club, and he's got some key wins over Okada, Tanahashi, and such. I do not think he had the momentum to sustain a months-long reign or anything, but he got to get in, make some noise, and down the line, he's got a foundation to work from. That's big.

I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't hold it long, the NEVER title moves around a lot, but Cobb getting some gold and glory is nice to help him fill in the egg-shaped hole Elgin's departure leaves, which again, is a change, even if it's not this earth shattering one.

[AwamoriRock]

Sanada is the first challenger. I don't like Sanada but for his benefit this match does not need to happen again for a long time.

I didn't check the dates (it's dontaku, Sengoku Lord, and hi no kuni) but there's also EVIL/Ishii, Ibushi/ZSJ, Taichi/Cobb, White/Goto, and Lee/Ospreay vs. Ishimori and X (fantasma).