WWE Rumors: Kazuchika Okada Leaving New Japan For World Wrestling Entertainment

WWE rumors are swirling around Kazuchika Okada. Management has been on a quest to find more foreign stars, and they’re becoming a bit aggressive about it. World Wrestling Entertainment has already taken away some of the top stars in New Japan. AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows have already been signed. According to Wrestling Inc, the promotion is now trying to take away Kazuchika Okada as well.

AJ Styles has long been one of the best performers in the world of professional wrestling. He’s one of the few guys that were able to become globally popular without having been through the WWE system. Styles is also one of the few TNA performers that were not blindly hated by World Wrestling Entertainment fans. Every single time AJ has become a free agent, fans would beg Vince McMahon to finally give the former world heavyweight champion a chance, and it finally happened earlier this year.

Karl Anderson has been one of the most underrated performers in pro wrestling. He made a name for himself through the independent wrestling circuit. Successful stints in the NWA and ROH earned him a coveted spot in New Japan. There, Anderson rose through the ranks and became one of the top foreign heels, a coveted role. Thanks in large part to the success of the Bullet Club stable, Karl finally received a chance from WWE and signed earlier this year.

Doc Gallows teamed with Karl Anderson in New Japan. He also signed a contract with WWE earlier in the year as well. Gallows is no stranger to the promotion. He’s worked in World Wrestling Entertainment before. Back then, he was known as Festus, a performer who went from being sedated to being a beast whenever he was tagged into a match. Doc found success in TNA and New Japan, which enabled him to make himself valuable enough for World Wrestling Entertainment again.

Shinsuke Nakamura was one of the biggest stars in New Japan. He could have remained there for years to come, as he was that beloved by the fans and by management. However, he yearned for something bigger. Shinsuke wanted to know if he could be a star in WWE. Like most performers, he knows that World Wrestling Entertainment is the biggest wrestling promotion in the world, so he wanted to see if he could outshine the biggest stars in the business.

All those personnel losses left a mark on New Japan. The promotion is now understandably paranoid. For years, the promotion only offered performers a one-year deal. That was advantageous for New Japan because it allowed them to evaluate the wrestlers and pay them accordingly. It also allowed them to drop people who were under-performing. Their signing policy has changed now that World Wrestling Entertainment has gone into predator mode.

Kazuchika Okada is the top star in New Japan. He currently holds the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Losing Okada would be devastating to NJPW. Management does not want that to happen, so they’re trying to lock him down on a five-year contract. It is also being said that New Japan is more willing to offer higher salaries to make that happen. As of right now, Kazuchika has yet to sign that deal, so there’s a very good chance that he’s pondering a jump to WWE.

Signing Kazuchika Okada would be quite the coup for WWE. Not only would they be adding a very talented performer to their roster, they’re also adding a marketing asset. With the WWE Network now available in Japan, the smart move is to get performers from that country who are already beloved.

[Image via Twitter]