KENTA

Originally Posted by KENTA

OK, to fully explain how fucking amazing this is, I have to do a little explaining.

First off, Japanese wrestling is steeped in tradition, like many Japanese things. It also has that social hierarchy that many businesses in Japan do. When you're the new guy, certain things are expected of you and you do them without question, and many things come along formulaically. One of these things is wrestling abroad and honing your skills. This used to mean working in several of the US/Canadian territories and working with veterans. After you were done with that, you'd come home and finally come out of your shell and, basically, get a gimmick. Nowadays it means working in TNA and maybe ROH for a year or two and never really appearing on TV. However, the same principal is still there. The Japanese view it as a grueling process that toughens up the wrestler and prepares them for the true battle that is Japanese wrestling.

Now, one of the common things to happen after you get back from this excursion is that the young wrestler goes on a huge winning streak. Often times they will join a stable as well, or possibly form their own. After a series of good performances, this will almost always culminate in a title match with the veteran champion, who knocks the wrestler down a peg or two and makes them realize how much further they have to better themselves to be on top. This has been the formula for roughly fifty years, and for good reason. It gets the younger wrestler some exposure, the champion gets another title defense under his belt, and it also lets the fans voice their opinion on just how much they like this guy post Young Lion status.

Now, Kazuchika Okada is a 24 year old wrestler. He first started in Toryumon when he was 16 and really didn't do much of anything. After getting fed up with the Toryumon system, he went to the New Japan Dojo and made another attempt at becoming a star. This time, he succeeded. During one of New Japan's many inter-company feuds with NOAH, Okada went up against Go Shiozaki, one of the top NOAH guys and their self proclaimed Ace. This was only a few years ago, roughly 2009 I think. The crowd went apeshit for everything Okada did, and Shiozaki was never that over with the New Japan fans. Okada took about 10 minutes of a beating and could barely touch Shiozaki, but the fans were completely on his side now, and his rise to stardom had begun.

He came back from his lackluster TNA tour last year and became the Rainmaker, joining top guy Shinsuke Nakamura's heel stable CHAOS as a sort of co-leader, and quickly earned his way to a title shot against longtime company ace and bonafide superstar Hiroshi Tanahashi. This wasn't the first time Tanahashi and Okada locked up, but it was the first time "Rainmaker" Okada and Tanahashi had a 1 vs 1 match. These two always had chemistry in my opinion, and I can't wait to see the actual match they put on. But the outcome is so historic that it bears marking out.