At only 34 years of age, Kazuchika Okada still has plenty of years ahead of him inside a wrestling ring. But in a recent interview, The Rainmaker contemplated what might lie after his in-ring days are over.
Speaking with Nikkan SPA, Okada says that he is looking at NJPW’s future, and that he’d like to work with the next generation of talent.
You can check out some highlights from the interview (translated from Japanese) below:
On training future stars being a goal for himself: “I want to create stars who will lead New Japan in the future. In order to create a star, it is faster if a star teaches a star, isn’t it? Besides, I myself did not originally come to New Japan as a member of the wrestling elite. Although I entered the world after graduating from junior high school, I did not have a spectacular record in amateur wrestling like other wrestlers. When I first joined Toryumon, I couldn’t even do 500 squats, and everyone around me kept telling me that I was no good. I am proud to say that I have something to teach a wide range of people because of this experience. I want to give back to New Japan Pro Wrestling by raising the next top person myself.”
On the importance of new stars to NJPW: “If someone can beat me, that means he is a star among stars. I want more and more people like that to join us. It is with such people that the future of New Japan Pro Wrestling will exist. We must pass on to the next generation the sashes that have been passed down from one generation to the next for the past 50 years. To do that, we need stars and the more stars we have, the better. I wish I could stay at the top for another 100 years, but that is impossible. There is a limit to how long I can stay at the top. By nurturing such a top star with my own hands, I can repay New Japan Pro Wrestling and engrave the name of Kazuchika Okada in the history of the wrestling world as the man who created a new top star.”
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