Kazuchika Okada
| Kazuchika Okada | |
|---|---|
 Okada at Border City Wrestling's East Meets West show in Windsor, Ontario on May 9, 2014 | |
| Born | November 8, 1987 Anjō, Aichi, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Kazuchika Okada Okada Okato |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Billed weight | 236 lb (107 kg) |
| Billed from | Tokyo, Japan (TNA) |
| Trained by | Último Dragón Kenzo Suzuki Taiji Ishimori Rocky Romero NJPW Dojo |
| Debut | August 29, 2004 |
Kazuchika Okada (born November 8, 1987) is a Japanese professional wrestler who is currently working for New Japan Pro Wrestling. He is a former five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
Career[change | change source]
He was trained by Último Dragón at Toryumon professional wrestling school and made his debut on August 29, 2004, against Negro Navarro. He competed in New Japan Pro Wrestling from August 26, 2007 to January 31, 2010. NJPW sent him to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling for a developmental tour in 2010.[1]
He debuted for TNA on February 16, 2010 where he lost to Alex Shelley in a dark match.[2] He competed for TNA from 2010 to 2011 and left to return to NJPW.
On February 12, 2012 at The New Beginning, he defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career.[3] He won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship a second time on April 7, 2013 at Invasion Attack defeating Tanahashi.[4]
Championships[change | change source]
- New Japan Pro Wrestling
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- He was ranked #5 of the top 500 singles wrestlers by the PWI in the PWI 500 in 2013.[10]
- Tokyo Sports Grand Prix
- Best Bout Award (2012) (vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi on June 16)[11]
- MVP Award (2012–2013)[11][12]
- Toryumon Mexico
- Young Dragons Cup (2005)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- 5 Star Match (2013) (vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi on April 7)[13]
- 5 Star Match (2013) (vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi on October 14)[14]
- Best Wrestling Maneuver (2012–2013) (Rainmaker)[15][16]
- Feud of the Year (2012–2013) (vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi)[15][16]
- Match of the Year (2013) (vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi on April 7)[16]
- Most Improved (2012)[15]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ "Young warriors head overseas, ex-NOAH stars on 1/31, Chono absent". Strong Style Spirit. Archived from the original on 2019-04-28. Retrieved 2013-07-22.
- ↑ "TNA Impact spoilers leading into the live Monday show, New Japan star debuts and more". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 2013-07-22.
- ↑ "The New Beginning". New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2013-07-22.
- ↑ "Invasion Attack". New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2013-07-22.
- ↑ "The New Beginning". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-05-07.
- ↑ "Invasion Attack". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-05-07.
- ↑ "カードファイト!! ヴァンガード Present NJPW 40th anniversary Tour G1 Climax 22 ～The One And Only～". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-05-07.
- ↑ "バディファイトPresents G1 CLIMAX 24". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-08-10.
- ↑ "New Japan Cup 2013". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-05-07.
- ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2013". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "【最年少タイ!!】オカダが『プロレス大賞』MVPを「あたりまえ」の初受賞!! ベストバウトはオカダvs棚橋！中邑は技能賞!!". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-05-07.
- ↑ "オカダ・カズチカが２年連続「プロレス大賞」ＭＶＰ！２５年ぶりの快挙". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (April 15, 2013). "Apr 15 2013 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: The absolutely gigantic 2013 WrestleMania weekend issue, packed full of news from all over the world". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 22. ISSN 1083-9593.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (October 21, 2013). "Oct 21 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Vince has it out with producers, changes Hell in a Cell, El Brazo dies, Tanahashi vs. Okada coverage, Frank Shamrock documentary insight, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. ISSN 1083-9593.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Meltzer, Dave (January 23, 2013). "The 2012 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Annual Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. ISSN 1083-9593. Archived from the original on April 25, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Meltzer, Dave (January 27, 2014). "Jan 27 2014 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2013 Annual awards issue, best in the world in numerous categories, plus all the news in pro-wrestling and MMA over the past week and more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 1–37. ISSN 1083-9593. Archived from the original on August 27, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
Other websites[change | change source]
- Kazuchika Okada on New Japan Pro Wrestling
- Kazuchika Okada on Twitter