Ahead of challenging Jay White for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 17, Kazuchika Okada spoke with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.
The Rainmaker discussed his upcoming match and also touched on Kenny Omega’s return to New Japan to challenge Will Ospreay for the IWGP US Championship.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On Jay White being overconfident heading into Wrestle Kingdom: “I’ve only beaten him once. So if he says he’s not worried, I believe him. He has every right to be confident as a champion, I just hope he will not use that overconfidence as an excuse when he loses.”
On having never beaten Jay White in Japan: “I lost to him in our first match when I was convinced I would win. Now I can’t afford to take it easy. The anxiety is definitely there, but a little anxiety is a good thing.”
On Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay potentially being the main event: “I think Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega will be an incredible match. I’m personally excited to see it! But after three years away, a lot of fans in the Tokyo Dome won’t know about Kenny Omega. Jay and I represent NJPW as it is right now better than anyone, and I think that’s what needs to be showcased in the main event. Still, I’m excited to see the fan discussion of which match was better!”
Wrestle Kingdom 17 (Night 1) Card:
- Jay White (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada – IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
- KAIRI (c) vs. Tam Nakano – IWGP Women’s Championship
- Will Ospreay (c) vs. Kenny Omega – IWGP US Championship
- Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Master Wato – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
- Keiji Muto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shota Umino vs Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI) – Keiji Muto’s last match in NJPW
- Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ren Narita – Tournament Final for NJPW World Television Championship
- Catch 2/2 (TJP and Francesco Akira) (c) vs. Chaos (Yoh and Lio Rush) – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
- FTR (c) vs. Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) – IWGP Tag Team Championship
- Karl Anderson (c) vs. Tama Tonga – NEVER Openweight Championship
- Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima & Togi Makabe vs Tatsumi Fujinami, Tiger Mask & Minoru Suzuki – Antonio Inoki Memorial Match
Night 1 of Wrestle Kingdom 17 will air live on January 4 at 3:00 AM EST on NJPW World.
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