Kazuchika Okada might be moving to a new promotion in the near future.
Okada will be a free agent as of January 2024, according to a new report from Sports Illustrated‘s Justin Barrasso. It was noted that Okada’s contract will expire at the end of January, and he is “seriously entertaining” wrestling for a different promotion.
It is expected that Okada would land in either WWE or AEW. Barrasso noted that Okada wants to continue living in Japan and considers that a priority. There’s already a precedent in AEW, as PAC still lives in England while performing for AEW. Will Ospreay, who signed a deal with AEW last month, will also remain a UK resident when he starts working for the promotion next year.
Kazuchika Okada wrestled on Dynamite in October and it was noted that his trip served multiple purposes. Okada not only got a chance to advance his feud with Bryan Danielson, but it also allowed him a chance to acquire a better sense of AEW operations.
Okada will face off with Danielson at Wrestle Kingdom 18 on January 4.
Danielson’s arm injury
Danielson suffered a fractured arm during his first match with Okada at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. He recently spoke during an interview with SI Fan Nation about the match. Danielson said he had more fun in the match because of the injury.
“Hindsight? I think I had more fun because of it. During the match, I turned to the referee and said, ‘I think I fractured my arm.’ I’m in the ring with someone whose English isn’t his first language. We didn’t even know for sure what it was to communicate. Even after the match when I was in the press conference, I didn’t realize how bad the break was,” Danielson said.
