Kazuchika Okada

Kazuchika Okada: 2022 Biography, Net Worth, Family, Income

Kazuchika Okada is a professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Born in Anjō, Japan, he got his start in wrestling after being trained by Último Dragón at the Toryumon professional wrestling school.

He made his debut in August 2004 in a losing effort to Negro Navarro, which took place in Mexico City, Mexico. Okada spent the first twenty months of his career in Mexico, wrestling solely for Mexican wrestling promotions. During this time, he was the victor of the Torymon 2005 Young Dragons Cup.

By 2006, Okada branched out to compete in other countries, such as America, Canada and his native Japan. His first match on Japanese soil saw him team up with Amigo Suzuki & The Great Sasuke to defeat Los Salseros Japoneises. Chikara and UWA Hardcore would also book Okada on their shows between 2006 and 2007 while he gained experience in the wrestling world.

Towards the end of 2007, Okada graduated from Toryumon professional wrestling school, earning himself a contract with New Japan Pro-Wrestling. This led to Okada training at the famed NJPW Dojo. He competed in a “pre-debut match” in August 2007 at NJPW Last Of CTU, losing to future rival Tetsuya Naito. Injury would then side-line Kazuchika Okada for eight months. Upon his return, he made his official NJPW debut in 2008 against Taichi Ishikari.

Okada’s career started to blossom the following year as he competed in more high-profile matches. He wrestled TAJIRI at NJPW Destruction in August 2009, Shinsuke Nakamura at NJPW Leonis IV in September 2009, and Giant Bernard later that month. In 2010, Okada was sent on an excursion to Total Nonstop Action wrestling to develop his in-ring skills.

TNA had Okada compete in several dark matches before his on-screen debut on TNA Xplosion #292. In this match, he teamed with Homicide in a losing effort to Generation Me (the future Young Bucks). He continued wrestling on Xplosion for much of 2010, facing names like Stevie Richards, Doug Williams and Rob Terry.

2011 saw Okada make more appearances on Impact: TNA’s flagship programme, as well as a brief return to NJPW, where he wrestled at Wrestle Kingdom 5. In TNA, he was renamed “Okato,” inspired by a character from the Green Hornet series named Kato. His TNA Pay-Per-View debut came at Against All Odds 2011, where he assisted Samoa Joe in a match against D’Angelo Dinero. However, his involvement in the Joe/Dinero feud was brief. He soon returned to his original name, appearing once again on Xplosion episodes.

New Japan recalled Okada to Japan due to dissatisfaction with his booking in TNA. The booking contributed to a relationship breakdown between the two organisations. Kazuchika Okada, however, credits his time in TNA for helping him develop the “Rainmaker” character, which made him a star in the years following.

Now back full-time in NJPW, Okada returned at Wrestle Kingdom 6 in 2012, defeating Yoshi-Hashi in just four minutes. After the event, Kazuchika Okada announced he had joined the villainous stable Chaos: New Japan’s top heel faction. As part of Chaos, Okada adopted the “Rainmaker” persona, enrolling Gedo as his manager and mouthpiece. He also formally challenged IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi, making it clear to fans that he was now a main event-level talent.

After a winning streak which saw him defeat main event talents in multi-man tag matches, including champion Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada struck gold. At The New Beginning super-show, Okada was victorious over Hiroshi Tanahashi, officially kickstarting his first reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion. He successfully defended this title against Tetsuya Naito and Hirooki Goto in separate instances before losing it back to Tanahashi at Dominion 2012.

Later that year, Okada won his first G1 Climax, beating Karl Anderson in the finals and becoming the youngest-ever G1 winner at 25 years old. He announced he wanted to cash in his IWGP Heavyweight title shot at Wrestle Kingdom 7. Though he signed a contract to confirm this, he was forced to defend his contract as if it was a championship.

Okada fended off names like Karl Anderson and Hirooki Goto before finally challenging Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in 2013. Unfortunately, after a 33-minute match, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada, retaining his championship.

Following a feud between Chaos and Suzuki-gun, Okada entered and won the 2013 New Japan Cup, once again giving him the right to challenge Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. In April, at Invasion Attack, Okada defeated Tanahashi, becoming a world champion for a second time. While reigning as IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Okada entered the 2013 G1 Climax and was eliminated after losses to Prince Devitt, Hirooki Goto, Togi Makabe and Satoshi Kojima.

Okada made several successful title defences in the coming months despite his embarrassing elimination from the G1. He defended successfully against the likes of Satoshi Kojima, rival Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tetsuya Naito, the latter taking place at Wrestle Kingdom 8 in 2014. Okada’s thirteen-month-long reign would eventually end at the hand of AJ Styles of the Bullet Club, who defeated Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship Wrestling Dontaku 2014.

At the 2014 G1 Climax, Kazuchika Okada saw great success. He won an incredible eight matches in his block, leading him to the final, where he defeated Chaos stablemate Shinsuke Nakamura to win the tournament. Like last time he was the #1 contender, Okada cashed in his IWGP Heavyweight Championship title shot at Wrestle Kingdom. In another stroke of “deja vu,” Hiroshi Tanahashi was the current reigning champion, having defeated AJ Styles a few months prior. Okada lost, sending him into a storyline depression due to once again being bettered by Tanahashi.

During this slump, he entered a storyline with Bad Luck Fale. He lost to Fale several times but eventually overcame the lousy run, defeating him at Invasion Attack 2015. Now rejuvenated, he challenged and defeated AJ Styles for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Dominion 2015.

Though he had a strong showing in the 2015 G1 with seven wins in his block, he was eliminated after a loss to Chaos stablemate Shinsuke Nakamura. Later that year, Okada beat wrestling legend Genichiro Tenryu in Tenryu’s retirement match. In December, after AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura left for employment in WWE, NJPW put everything behind Kazuchika Okada, awarding him a five-year contract worth ¥200 million.

At Wrestle Kingdom 10 in 2016, Kazuchika Okada defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in 36 minutes. He lost the title to Tetsuya Naito at Invasion Attack 2016 thanks to interference from Naito’s Los Ingobernables de Japón stablemates. Okada’s time without the championship was short, for he defeated Naito to regain the belt at Dominion 2016 just two months later. He once again came agonisingly close to reaching the 2016 G1 finals, but a 30-minute tie with Hiroshi Tanahashi kept both men out of the finals.

Wrestle Kingdom 11 saw Kazuchika Okada defend his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kenny Omega. The match was praised by highly regarded professional wrestlers such as Bryan Danielson, Mick Foley and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer was quoted as saying that Okada & Omega “may have put on the greatest match in pro wrestling history.” Okada would continue to take part in stellar matches while defending his championship. He held the title throughout 2017, stopping names like Minoru Suzuki, Katsuyori Shibata, Cody Rhodes and EVIL from taking the strap off him.

In October 2017, Kazuchika Okada became the longest-reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion of all time, reaching 490 days with the belt.

Okada kept his record-setting championship run going by defeating Tetsuya Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 12 at the start of 2018. He continued with successful defences by beating Zack Sabre Jr, old nemesis Hiroshi Tanahashi and Sanada, until his fourth meeting with Kenny Omega at Dominion 2018. Okada and Omega competed in a 2 out of 3 falls match with no time limit, with Kenny Omega winning the match after 65 minutes. Kazuchika Okada’s historic reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion ended after 720 days.

Another failed attempt at the G1 Climax led to Okada changing his look and attitude later this year. He parted ways with manager Gedo to reinforce this new persona, but at the Destruction in Kobe event in 2018, he was betrayed by Gedo. After a match with Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jay White attacked Okada, with Gedo backing White in the assault. Okada lost to White at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in 2019.

A successful bounce-back was needed from this loss to Jay White, and thankfully, Kazuchika Okada found it. He won his second New Japan Cup in March, which allowed him to challenge Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at G1 Supercard. This would be a joint show between New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Ring of Honor. In the show’s main event, Okada defeated Jay White, starting his fifth reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

His fifth reign was also successful. For the rest of the year, he accumulated title defences against Chris Jericho, Minoru Suzuki and Kota Ibushi. The match against Ibushi occurred at Wrestle Kingdom 14, held over two nights in 2020. The Ibushi match was on night one, but the next day on night two, Okada lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Tetsuya Naito.

Now outside of the championship picture, Okada would feud briefly with Taichi. Soon after, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all New Japan shows were postponed.

In July 2020, NJPW announced the addition of the KOPW championship. Kazuchika Okada would make it to the tournament finals to become recognised as the first-ever champion but was ultimately defeated by Toru Yano. A controversial loss in 2020 G1 led to Okada entering a feud with Will Ospreay, after much interference on Ospreay’s part cost Okada a chance to enter the G1 finals.

Okada would then battle Ospreay’s faction, The Empire, to get a chance at wrestling Ospreay. At Wrestle Kingdom 15 in 2021, Okada defeated Ospreay, ending the feud and gaining his revenge.

Later that year, Okada won his third G1, having been victorious over Kota Ibushi in the finals. This earned Okada a Wrestle Kingdom shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, a new belt resulting from a unification of the IWGP Intercontinental and Heavyweight championships. At Wrestle Kingdom 16 in 2022, Kazuchika Okada defeated Shingo Takagi, earning his first reign as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.

He would defend the championship successfully against Zack Sabre Jr and twice against Tetsuya Naito before losing it to Jay White at Dominion 2022.

Following the loss of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, Okada made his debut for All Elite Wrestling. He appeared on the June 22nd, 2022 edition of Dynamite, coming to the aid of Hangman Page, who was being attacked by Adam Cole and Jay White. At the AEW/NJPW crossover event Forbidden Door, Okada wrestled Page, Cole, and White for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Jay White won the match after pinning an injured Adam Cole.

Okada did not let the Forbidden Door loss trip him up, for he won his fourth G1 Climax just one month later, defeating Will Ospreay in the finals. Because of this G1 Climax victory, Okada earned another shot at Jay White’s championship. At Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4th, 2023, Kazuchika Okada is set to face Jay White for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

Net Worth

As of December 2022, Kazuchika Okada has a net worth of $3.1 million.

Family

Kazuchika Okada married voice actress Suzuko Mimori in April 2019. They welcomed their first son to the world in August 2022.

Income

It has been reported that Kazuchika Okada’s salary from New Japan Pro-Wrestling is $2.2 million per year.

Record

According to Cagematch.net, throughout his 18-year career so far, Kazuchika Okada has competed in 1,611 matches. He has won 714, lost 886 and drawn 11, putting his winning percentage at 44.3%.

Figures are correct as of December 17th 2022.

NJPW Career

• IWGP World Heavyweight Champion – 1 time
• IWGP Heavyweight Champion – 5 times
• G1 Climax Winner – 2012, 2014, 2021, 2022
• New Japan Cup Winner – 2013, 2019

Charity

Kazuchika Okada created the “Rainmaker Kikin” (translated as the “Rainmaker Fund”) in August 2014. For every match Okada wins in his career, he donates ¥30,000 (the equivalent of US$219.71 / £180.54) to battle children’s cancer. This was inspired by Okada’s uncle and cousin, both of whom had been diagnosed with cancer.