Kazuchika Okada is looking forward to the future.
Okada is set to become a free agent on February 1. He commented on his New Japan Pro-Wrestling tenure coming to an end.
“Thank you for supporting New Japan Pro Wrestling for 17 years! thank you very much! I laughed, got angry, cried, it was great! I look forward to playing the remaining three games as a free agent,” Okada wrote on Twitter (via translation).
Read More: AEW Sources Are Confident They Will Land Kazuchika Okada
Not resting on your laurels
Speaking with Tokyo Sports, Okada explained his decision to leave. (Translation via DeepL)
“First of all, this was the fifth (and final) year of my contract,” Kazuchika Okada said. “It was a good time for me to think about something. When I thought about whether I would sign another contract with New Japan Pro-Wrestling…or whether I would look at other worlds, I thought that this might be my last chance.”
Okada was then asked when he made the decision, and he said it was a recent decision.
“After announcing that I was quitting and going on a tour… I guess I felt too comfortable, [and] I wondered about that,” Kazuchika Okada said. “I started my wrestling career in Mexico, came to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and became a rainmaker 12 years ago.
“Maybe if I stay here, I can wrestle without any inconvenience. But I don’t want to become the same Kazuchika Okada who doesn’t have that kind of hunger. I don’t want to be in a situation where I have to rest on my laurels. If I were “human” Okada Kazuchika, I would have friends here, and it would be the best environment. But as “wrestler” Okada, I felt different.”
