**Help make SquaredCircle safer and more inclusive by using the report button to flag posts and comments for moderator review.**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Okada will inevitably default to a mega face but I think it’s a good idea to start him off with a pronounced heel gimmick so we don’t start off the typical “nice Japanese wrestler who is happy to be here and is famous for being good at wrestling” debut
My only reaction was "Thank God he's wearing a suit. Man looks classy. Last couple of times he showed up on AEW he was just wearing a white t-shirt and looked like a bum off the street."
I didn't twig on to the trick until he got in the ring and looked at Eddie for the first time like "I got your back bro", and I was like... "*Hang on.* Okada and the Bucks are openly friends..." And then bam. And then I was like "Ha ha, of course."
Seriously though, man needs to wear suits. It sells his persona in a way that the "I just wandered in off the street" look doesn't. Kind of like how Cody basically exudes old-school class every time you see him dressed to the nines.
I think it works for special occasions like this or if he's at a press conference. Like, he's The Rainmaker. He has been for years now. Understandably it could always be someone's first time seeing him, but I think seeing him go from Street Clothes Okada to "literally making money fall from the sky" Rainmaker Okada when he actually comes to wrestle is a cool transformation and not as stark if it's from Classy, Business Okada to Rainmaker because those feel like the same guy just wearing different clothes, where as Street Clothes Okada and Rainmaker Okada feel distinct.
I do agree about Cody, but I also just think that's part of the character at this point (and probably just how he like to present himself more often than not).
TBH when I saw Okada in the suit, with the blonde hair, I legit thought "He gives off the same energy as Cody did, pre neck tattoo", and figured he'd be the same white meat baby face.
I don't mean to be rude....
But how did people not see that coming? To me, the YB new gimmick is tailor made for bringing in Okada. As soon as I heard he was leaving New Japan, I thought this is what had to happen.
People just expect big name signings to show up as faces and they more often than not do because it's hard to turn fans against someone they're really excited to see.
Yup. Show up as a big babyface, face the #1 guy in the promotion in a dream match, win the title then.... there's nowhere to go. Now we get to have a big Okada face turn at some point, AEW is lousy with top babyfaces too, especially if they're having BCC go full face now.
We're on a situation where we're trying to find the right time to put the AEW title on Swerve without having Joe being a transitional champion and with Ospreay probably winning the title at Wembley or at the end of the year. The main event scene is stacked specially on the face side with Swerve and Ospreay who are over as fuck with the crowd. Swerve regretting what he did with Hangman (blasphemy, come on Swerve, you're a psycho!\^\^) got him even more over! And Ospreay is magnificent and has already the crowd in the palm of his hand. You add Danielson who is always a tweener, Omega when he comes back and Mox who is still Mox, MJF when he will come back and there's no place for another babyface. Now on the heel side, AEW could really use a monster legend like Okada. And like you said, it gives AEW and the fans the possibility to see a big Okada face turn in the next few years.
I didn't expect Okada to join the Young Bucks because I genuinely thought they were going with the Okada as the special attraction cocky "I know I can beat everyone here, I've done it before" type thing.
I also 100% thought he'd go solo.
Nah, the rails of the devil storyline already came off toward the end, and now both guys have been gone for months and the storyline completely forgotten. This angle is not just cold, it's so dead that rigor mortis has already set in. Trying to resurrect the angle would be a mistake. It should just be forgotten and discarded.
You're being downvoted but you're right. I fucking love AEW but that angle died the moment Adam Cole blew his ankle out. I'm so tired of seeing Undisputed Kingdom already. They look like dorks every time their fearless badass leader is wheeled out and can't even stand on his own.
Same for me. At its core, pro wrestling is about selling the illusion of fighting prowess, about who can kick ass. Pro wrestling taps heavily into both common tvtropes: [Asskicking equals authority](https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Asskicking_Equals_Authority) **and** also [Authority equals asskicking](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AuthorityEqualsAsskicking).
Cole being this dangerous evil mastermind that everyone should be afraid of just doesn't line up with his current presentation as a physically weak little shit in a wheelchair. Perhaps the wheelchair presentation would work for a babyface, or for a physically imposing monster heel like Kane where everyone goes "as soon as he gets up and leaves his wheelchair, shit's about to go down". But for someone like Cole, it imho just doesn't work.
Bro...Kenny is fighting not have a colostomy bag attached to himself for the rest of his life.
Having another match with anyone is probably down the list of things he and/AEW is worried about lol
If Kenny isn't done as an active wrestler forever it'd be a miracle.
Diverticulitis is a nasty SOB of a situation that has a lot of medical blind spots
Kenny wouldn't be the first wrestler to recover from life threatening diverticulitis though. Brock Lesnar had *major* issues with it... And was an "active" competitor for almost a decade after that - and if it weren't for all the scandals, he would probably still be "active". I'm not sure whether the very limited number of dates is due to the lingering effects of the diverticulitis or being a big enough star that he can dictate terms and not wanting to work, but it's hopeful for Kenny either way.
It's still absolutely an *if*, but AEW have booked accordingly. If he doesn't return? It's the corporate heels kicking a man when he is down and firing him when he is sick despite his massive contributions and hard work - an extremely on-brand thing for the corporate heels. If he does? It's that, plus a story of the mistreated face getting revenge on the corporate heels. Everyone wants that extra story, and it's elementary, but the whole thing still works out without it.
It's the right move considering Ospreay and also Swerve are clearly the top babyfaces right now. I mean Ospreay is so good that he's capable to turn Callis face organically.\^\^
Omega & Ibushi are going to be out for a while, and Hangman is a heel now.
BUT there could be a really cool 3v3v3 Blood & Guts this year: Okada & the Bucks vs Ospreay & Aussie Open vs Bullet Club Gold v
Fuck it, trios GANG WAR. Stadium Stampede this year can be The Elite vs BCC vs BCG vs United Empire vs Best Friends vs House of Black vs Death Triangle vs Dark Order vs The Acclaimed vs Undisputed Kingdom
He made his name as a cocky heel, playing it like a blue chip prospect who was so much better than everyone — slowly he morphed into like a tweener face by nature of being so obviously good, and once he was the new ace he could basically change it up based on the feud
Generally a face as the ace, but with his character as a rich pretty boy who knows he's better than everyone, was always at least a bit of a dick anyways and could definitely be full on heel in the right feud/match
OK as someone who actually watches njpw and isn't just making stuff up the heel face line is more blurred here. Essentially a heel is someone who cheats and okada didn't cheat but he was a massive fuckwit in ring and wrestled more comfortably as the heel in the match. He would more often be the guy on top of the match. He would be the guy the audience would root against.
He did not wrestle like bloody John cena where he would work from underneath and have the odds stacked against him. Okada was the odds
He is arrogant, childish and a prick
It's difficult to do like for like comparisons because the heel face alignment is so blurred outside of obvious heels like house of torture who again cheat.
Orton is probably the closest comparison but okada was the legit top guy.
The business peak of the bushiroad era was built around okada and naito. They are both flawed humans as characters.
Probably the best straight comparison is think of a dominant sports team of arrogant fuckwits who immediately sulk and cry when things don't go their way. That's okadas character
I don't like that comparriosn because in the King of Pro Wrestling 2013 Tanahashi was literally doing heel shit because Okada was catching up to him skill wise and Tanahashi was at his last strings trying to keep pace with Okada. Can you EVER imagine Cena being underhanded trying to keep up with Orton? Tanahashi vs. Okada is not a generational fued, it was a old vs. new generational clash.
Anyone that tells you Okada was a heel or a face is either lying to you or didn't pay attention to his entire NJPW run.
Okada is Okada, that's it. If you need him to be booed, he will, if you need him to be cheered, he will, he's a prick, an asshole, and just genuinely irritating but at the same time you get it, because he is Okada, he is the best, he is the goat, he is the rainmaker, and you can't help but respect that.
Anyone else in Okada's shoes would get booed out of the building for what he did against Kaito, but to people who actually know Okada, you can figure out that he did it, because he's the best and you don't fuck with the best, it's just Okada proving, once again, that no one can take him.
Aka, he's one of the best characters of all time and a very versatile one at that, if you need any more proof as to how much the crowd can change their emotions and feelings, just check out Okada's match against Ibushi, and then against Naito the night after.
True but a lot of people were drawn to njpw by the emergence of bullet club by which point Okada was basically a face by default cause they and Suzuki gun were eviler than CHAOS
Okada was at his best when he was trashtalking all the peasants like Ibushi. I always remember that promo he made on Ibushi, the IC title and the fusion of the two belts. So fucking cold.\^\^
One of the best booking decisions I’ve seen in ages. Makes sense due to Okada/Bucks real life friendship and completely goes against what you’d expect from a big debut.
And people clearly want to see babyface or tweener best bout machine Kenny. I loved his run as a heel Champion. He was fantastic but it's like Ospreay, these guys they can't be heels really.
Yeah at first I didn't think about it. I only thought about him being in AEW and turning heel. I didn't even think about the fact that not only he's the new leader of the group that has been in war with him a few years ago, he's also replacing his fucking rival! Such great idea.
Heel Okada is inspired. Also use The Young Bucks to cut the promos. Okada has great charisma and his in ring is all that. But doing promos in a second language can be tough
This is obviously not the most notable detail but I do appreciate that the Young Bucks are asshole heels for no particularly good reason but are still completely justified for suspending Hangman, who is completely justified for hating Swerve but he went too far this time. But part of it is that the Young Bucks were kinda dicks about Hangman's obsession then but are obviously correct about it now and are doing their EVP jobs correctly in this instance, but they're all still heels, I think and are still friends with Hangman, I think, but still did the right thing between not doing the right thing.
...
Well thought out characterization and continuity is good!
Ospreay is like the one guy on the planet who can maaaaaybe follow that match. I would still main it Kenny vs Okada though, AEW aint afraid of putting the title 2nd from the top if they think something is bigger like BCC vs Elite or Sting's reitrement or the first Stadium Stampede
Okada joining The Elite replacing Kenny Omega feels like insane fantasy booking but my god it's happening, Okada Omega 5. I am so ready for heel rainmaker
There's a reason, they made the angle with Kingston. They could have used any faces on the promotion. It's clearly leading to Okada taking the Triple Crown belt and that's a great booking. What AEW was missing the last few years was another top guy having an intermediate title. There's no reason that the "midcard" titles are only for midcarders. Last year you had Okada IWGP champion and Omega US champion. Talk about star power. Clearly the AEW champion is gonna be Swerve and after that probably Ospreay and Okada just screams champion. The triple Crown title is perfect for Okada.
_I_ for one am enjoying this version of the heel Bucks, I was worried it'd be too much "Lol get it McMahon" but they've been pretty standard terrible bosses. Watch them win the tags and just be heat machines with Okada
Yeah, it seemed to start as a dig at McMahon but the more I watch it the more I think it’s a roundabout dig at Punk. Punk said they couldn’t manage a Target, and here they are, giving out Amazon gift cards and firing people for being sick like managers of a Target.
I loved the Super Elite(Omega/Bucks/Gallows/Anderson/Cutler) in 2021 as a 96' NWO type faction, but I see potential in this emerging new faction. Corporate Kazu will be interesting, just curious who else the EVPs bring in. Cutler trading in the tye dye track suits and faceguard for a cheesey nite club suit would be perfect. Either way it's going to be a lot more entertaining than "Undisputed Kingdom"(AKA the most god awful faction in modern wrestling history)
There’s a world out there where Okada wins the AEW World title at the same time the bucks are tag team champions, I hope that’s our future. The only way to stop them is for Kenny to get back with Hangman and recruit Ospreay. That 6 man tag would feed villages.
having okada come in as a heel is a pretty genius move imo, seperates him from his njpw ace character straight off and also he has been on fire in ring when he digs into the heelish stuff
super fucking excited to see how this goes, okada/kingston should be fantastic
This is a really good move imo. If the Bucks are going to be top heels, then let Okada be a heel with them and let Kenny be a singles star when he gets back. I hope he can return at 100% and be the actual star babyface he should have been from the beginning.
Lets have skits of Okada being Director of Human Resources, acting like Kuma in a Tekken ending, and skits of him and the Bucks doing Crazy Fun while figuring out now folks to fine for silly thing on a boat....
Bucks proving themselves consistently some of the biggest backstabbers in wrestling (Omega learning what Devitt, Styles, Cole, Steen and others have learned); “Good Christian Boys” indeed.
Arrogant asshole Okada is best Okada, imo.
Gotta be honest, did not give a fuck about Okada coming into AEW, but him replacing Kenny in the Elite??? And turning heel, holy shit I love this so much.
Corporate heel Okada I'm absolutely interested. Super weird seeing him with Matt and Nick and calling themselves the elite. Strap me in I'm here for it
**Help make SquaredCircle safer and more inclusive by using the report button to flag posts and comments for moderator review.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) if you have any questions or concerns.*
#TWO CONTRACT KAZUCHIKA
I'd like to believe this is how he managed to keep his entire entrance intact for AEW.
He's getting that Brandon Cutler bread now
Okada *wishes* he could be like Cutler
fr why do people try to compare nobody newcomers to GOATs
really though Okada would probably loooove to have a silly comedy match with Cutler
put it on BTDO
[Per Cutler] Kenny Omega is driving around Reseda, begging(through texts) for Matthew and Nicholas's new phone number.
Breaking: Backstage source OUTRAGED at outsider's ludicrous new contract! (Brandon Cutler on X)
One contract for AEW The other for every piece of clothing own by Nick Jackson
jar bag violet longing tease hobbies somber pot airport depend *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
https://preview.redd.it/i29eycremtmc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1610aebda03fdb54e6cfc974cf8829a89f82ff25
https://preview.redd.it/j99ojwzs5umc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9898a93203ef88c1049f17014608cb7279ae1533
LMFAOOOOOO
And another is born https://preview.redd.it/jglgxlalqumc1.png?width=279&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9dab72ff59b60423eb09ae1834575e6f5d2e1573
Employee of the Month for January, February and March right there
April, May, and June also
[Same energy](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/028/367/cover1.jpg)
You might not like it, but this is peak wrestling down here. Get over it.
now imagine these same photos, line up in same manner on wall in executive office room.
Look like they’re getting major clues
ok, this is the best, sidebar please
My new Discord profile banner.
Show this photo to a NJPW fan in 2016 and they'll get a heart attack.
What a shocking decision. I honestly have no idea anymore.
I suspect it's because Ospreay is a huge babyface. Give it time, Okada will eventually turn, so will Ospreay.
Okada will inevitably default to a mega face but I think it’s a good idea to start him off with a pronounced heel gimmick so we don’t start off the typical “nice Japanese wrestler who is happy to be here and is famous for being good at wrestling” debut
Plus they can play on the real life relationship with how close Okada is with The Bucks
They replaced KO with KO
[удалено]
https://preview.redd.it/t448bsk8xtmc1.png?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e820ab0f1e0f2390732337a03ce4a9994804128a
A new Mount Rushmore, just with Okada this time.
KO (pick any of them) + Bucks the greatest trio of all time
Kelly Olynyk does look like an overgrown Young Buck.
Holy shit didn’t expect that!!!!!
The Bucks deadass pulled a "Friendship ended with Kenny Omega. Kazuchika Okada is now our new best friend!"
Now that I think about it... Okada and Kenny are definitely facing each other again.
It was a brief shower thought for me and then I thought *Nah they'll never do that.* They did it!
The way he was standing in the ring, I was thinking “man Okada with the Bucks would be interesting as hell but they won’t turn HOLY SHIT THEY DID IT”
When he came out with the suit on, and looking like an EVP, it definitely kept my guard up.
My only reaction was "Thank God he's wearing a suit. Man looks classy. Last couple of times he showed up on AEW he was just wearing a white t-shirt and looked like a bum off the street." I didn't twig on to the trick until he got in the ring and looked at Eddie for the first time like "I got your back bro", and I was like... "*Hang on.* Okada and the Bucks are openly friends..." And then bam. And then I was like "Ha ha, of course." Seriously though, man needs to wear suits. It sells his persona in a way that the "I just wandered in off the street" look doesn't. Kind of like how Cody basically exudes old-school class every time you see him dressed to the nines.
I think it works for special occasions like this or if he's at a press conference. Like, he's The Rainmaker. He has been for years now. Understandably it could always be someone's first time seeing him, but I think seeing him go from Street Clothes Okada to "literally making money fall from the sky" Rainmaker Okada when he actually comes to wrestle is a cool transformation and not as stark if it's from Classy, Business Okada to Rainmaker because those feel like the same guy just wearing different clothes, where as Street Clothes Okada and Rainmaker Okada feel distinct. I do agree about Cody, but I also just think that's part of the character at this point (and probably just how he like to present himself more often than not).
They did telegraph it a bit when Okada showed up in the suit, but I still wasn't sure if they'd actually go through with it.
And when they wore okada robes at revolution.
holy shit you’re right https://preview.redd.it/6l4b11zlrwmc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2452e219f675a3503595c5469a0dfdb0855986cf
TBH when I saw Okada in the suit, with the blonde hair, I legit thought "He gives off the same energy as Cody did, pre neck tattoo", and figured he'd be the same white meat baby face.
Okada with the heel turn that we all wanted for Cody in AEW. Now he can finish his story with the Young Bucks.
I didn't think that. I thought Okada in a suit was a response to all the complaints about Okada in casual clothes.
I don't mean to be rude.... But how did people not see that coming? To me, the YB new gimmick is tailor made for bringing in Okada. As soon as I heard he was leaving New Japan, I thought this is what had to happen.
People just expect big name signings to show up as faces and they more often than not do because it's hard to turn fans against someone they're really excited to see.
Yup. Show up as a big babyface, face the #1 guy in the promotion in a dream match, win the title then.... there's nowhere to go. Now we get to have a big Okada face turn at some point, AEW is lousy with top babyfaces too, especially if they're having BCC go full face now.
We're on a situation where we're trying to find the right time to put the AEW title on Swerve without having Joe being a transitional champion and with Ospreay probably winning the title at Wembley or at the end of the year. The main event scene is stacked specially on the face side with Swerve and Ospreay who are over as fuck with the crowd. Swerve regretting what he did with Hangman (blasphemy, come on Swerve, you're a psycho!\^\^) got him even more over! And Ospreay is magnificent and has already the crowd in the palm of his hand. You add Danielson who is always a tweener, Omega when he comes back and Mox who is still Mox, MJF when he will come back and there's no place for another babyface. Now on the heel side, AEW could really use a monster legend like Okada. And like you said, it gives AEW and the fans the possibility to see a big Okada face turn in the next few years.
Okada came back as a face too, the turn was just very fast.
The robes they wore for their entrance during their Revolution entrance were also very Okada like. The business cards also!
I didn't expect Okada to join the Young Bucks because I genuinely thought they were going with the Okada as the special attraction cocky "I know I can beat everyone here, I've done it before" type thing. I also 100% thought he'd go solo.
Gonna need receipts on that Chief
[удалено]
Friendship ended with KENNY and HANGMAN Now OKADA is my best friend
Okada is the perfect person to take up Kenny spot as he is out.
And it's an excuse for another Kenny/Okada match down the line if Omega gets healthy.
My thoughts exactly. This could easily main event All In should Kenny be ready by then.
Imho, Ospreay should headline Wembley this year. Perhaps he wins the world title there.
While I agree ……their is a certain poetic story that can be finished at all in involving a devil
Nah, the rails of the devil storyline already came off toward the end, and now both guys have been gone for months and the storyline completely forgotten. This angle is not just cold, it's so dead that rigor mortis has already set in. Trying to resurrect the angle would be a mistake. It should just be forgotten and discarded.
You're being downvoted but you're right. I fucking love AEW but that angle died the moment Adam Cole blew his ankle out. I'm so tired of seeing Undisputed Kingdom already. They look like dorks every time their fearless badass leader is wheeled out and can't even stand on his own.
Same for me. At its core, pro wrestling is about selling the illusion of fighting prowess, about who can kick ass. Pro wrestling taps heavily into both common tvtropes: [Asskicking equals authority](https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Asskicking_Equals_Authority) **and** also [Authority equals asskicking](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AuthorityEqualsAsskicking). Cole being this dangerous evil mastermind that everyone should be afraid of just doesn't line up with his current presentation as a physically weak little shit in a wheelchair. Perhaps the wheelchair presentation would work for a babyface, or for a physically imposing monster heel like Kane where everyone goes "as soon as he gets up and leaves his wheelchair, shit's about to go down". But for someone like Cole, it imho just doesn't work.
If they do a stadium show in the US next year, hard to think of a bigger match than Kenny v okada 5
Bro, im so down for a heel kenny/okada tag run
Ibushi is heartbroken...
Bro...Kenny is fighting not have a colostomy bag attached to himself for the rest of his life. Having another match with anyone is probably down the list of things he and/AEW is worried about lol If Kenny isn't done as an active wrestler forever it'd be a miracle. Diverticulitis is a nasty SOB of a situation that has a lot of medical blind spots
Kenny wouldn't be the first wrestler to recover from life threatening diverticulitis though. Brock Lesnar had *major* issues with it... And was an "active" competitor for almost a decade after that - and if it weren't for all the scandals, he would probably still be "active". I'm not sure whether the very limited number of dates is due to the lingering effects of the diverticulitis or being a big enough star that he can dictate terms and not wanting to work, but it's hopeful for Kenny either way. It's still absolutely an *if*, but AEW have booked accordingly. If he doesn't return? It's the corporate heels kicking a man when he is down and firing him when he is sick despite his massive contributions and hard work - an extremely on-brand thing for the corporate heels. If he does? It's that, plus a story of the mistreated face getting revenge on the corporate heels. Everyone wants that extra story, and it's elementary, but the whole thing still works out without it.
Yeah, that was my first thought. Tailor-made feud with Kenny when he comes back and is pissed at his former friends.
And then feud when he's back.
I am so into heel Okada. I really didn't need him to come in and just be NJPW Okada in AEW
Ppl forget that Okada is a comedy wrestler stuck in the body of a goat wrestler. Him and the Bucks are gonna have some high comedy heel antics
Wrestling's Brad Pitt
Holy shit this is accurate.
This comment is as underrated as Brad Pitt's acting...
I feel like Channing Tatum also fits this description.
The Bucks and AWESOME Trios lineups has always been a thing: Kevin Steen,Adam Cole,AJ,,Kenny,Hangman,and now Lil Kazu.
Need him to come out at Big Business in the same suit Nick was wearing tonight.
I was thinking he should have debuted in that, but it would have given the game away so yeah next week is perfect!
Alternately have him wear the bloody white suit from the Sting/Darby thing. Both are fantastic.
Matching suit and a painted on goatee
Have some respect for the EVPs and use their passport names
In like 2018 someone said he and Danielson were born comedy midcarders trapped in the body of the world's greatest wrestler
if Okada can grow facial hair I want to see him with whatever the bucks are rocking
Ngl silly mustache Okada would be awesome
SCOOBYDOOBYDOOOOOO
Especially with Ospreay looking like he’ll be a top face (once he leaves Don Callis), this makes total sense.
It's the right move considering Ospreay and also Swerve are clearly the top babyfaces right now. I mean Ospreay is so good that he's capable to turn Callis face organically.\^\^
Eventually Bucks/Okada vs Omega/Hangman/Ibushi
Modern day Ibushi would bring down that match so many levels. I’d just plug in Ospreay or something.
Omega & Ibushi are going to be out for a while, and Hangman is a heel now. BUT there could be a really cool 3v3v3 Blood & Guts this year: Okada & the Bucks vs Ospreay & Aussie Open vs Bullet Club Gold v
wanna see Okada/Bucks and the BCC too
Fuck it, trios GANG WAR. Stadium Stampede this year can be The Elite vs BCC vs BCG vs United Empire vs Best Friends vs House of Black vs Death Triangle vs Dark Order vs The Acclaimed vs Undisputed Kingdom
LFG i love the elite
As someone who is familiar with Okada and has watched only a handful of his matches, what was his role in NJPW? Was he usually a heel? Face?
He made his name as a cocky heel, playing it like a blue chip prospect who was so much better than everyone — slowly he morphed into like a tweener face by nature of being so obviously good, and once he was the new ace he could basically change it up based on the feud
Generally a face as the ace, but with his character as a rich pretty boy who knows he's better than everyone, was always at least a bit of a dick anyways and could definitely be full on heel in the right feud/match
OK as someone who actually watches njpw and isn't just making stuff up the heel face line is more blurred here. Essentially a heel is someone who cheats and okada didn't cheat but he was a massive fuckwit in ring and wrestled more comfortably as the heel in the match. He would more often be the guy on top of the match. He would be the guy the audience would root against. He did not wrestle like bloody John cena where he would work from underneath and have the odds stacked against him. Okada was the odds He is arrogant, childish and a prick
Yeah, he was Randy Orton to Tanahashi's John Cena.
It's difficult to do like for like comparisons because the heel face alignment is so blurred outside of obvious heels like house of torture who again cheat. Orton is probably the closest comparison but okada was the legit top guy. The business peak of the bushiroad era was built around okada and naito. They are both flawed humans as characters. Probably the best straight comparison is think of a dominant sports team of arrogant fuckwits who immediately sulk and cry when things don't go their way. That's okadas character
I don't like that comparriosn because in the King of Pro Wrestling 2013 Tanahashi was literally doing heel shit because Okada was catching up to him skill wise and Tanahashi was at his last strings trying to keep pace with Okada. Can you EVER imagine Cena being underhanded trying to keep up with Orton? Tanahashi vs. Okada is not a generational fued, it was a old vs. new generational clash.
Maybe if Orton had ever taken over as the top guy.
Anyone that tells you Okada was a heel or a face is either lying to you or didn't pay attention to his entire NJPW run. Okada is Okada, that's it. If you need him to be booed, he will, if you need him to be cheered, he will, he's a prick, an asshole, and just genuinely irritating but at the same time you get it, because he is Okada, he is the best, he is the goat, he is the rainmaker, and you can't help but respect that. Anyone else in Okada's shoes would get booed out of the building for what he did against Kaito, but to people who actually know Okada, you can figure out that he did it, because he's the best and you don't fuck with the best, it's just Okada proving, once again, that no one can take him. Aka, he's one of the best characters of all time and a very versatile one at that, if you need any more proof as to how much the crowd can change their emotions and feelings, just check out Okada's match against Ibushi, and then against Naito the night after.
New Japan Okada was heel too tbf
True but a lot of people were drawn to njpw by the emergence of bullet club by which point Okada was basically a face by default cause they and Suzuki gun were eviler than CHAOS
Okada was at his best when he was trashtalking all the peasants like Ibushi. I always remember that promo he made on Ibushi, the IC title and the fusion of the two belts. So fucking cold.\^\^
Corporate Okada, let’s fucking GOOOO
One of the best booking decisions I’ve seen in ages. Makes sense due to Okada/Bucks real life friendship and completely goes against what you’d expect from a big debut.
Also works out for when Kenny returns. Now he can be a face, which is how people typically treat people who come back from injury anyway.
And people clearly want to see babyface or tweener best bout machine Kenny. I loved his run as a heel Champion. He was fantastic but it's like Ospreay, these guys they can't be heels really.
Okada vs Eddie in the works and Kenny/Okada foundations laid. That’s fucking delightful.
EVP Okada vs Psycho Hangman in a Texas Death Match would also slap hard as fuck
That's an incredible idea
I hope Okada has changed his stance on blood.
Okada is here on shit What a get for aew
Okada in the elite... fucking surreal
Yeah at first I didn't think about it. I only thought about him being in AEW and turning heel. I didn't even think about the fact that not only he's the new leader of the group that has been in war with him a few years ago, he's also replacing his fucking rival! Such great idea.
[удалено]
Yeah, even knowing ahead of time that he was likely to show up, I popped the moment that coin drop played(best audio sting ever, btw.)
It's up there with glass shattering and the car crash.
Yeah, that’s actually fair. That honestly didn’t come to mind somehow. I’m in Okada world, atm. It’s a close number two at worst.
Should have known. Who shows up to their first day at work in a suit unless you're an executive....
Heel okada with the bucks??? We're back on unprecedented levels
Did not expect heel Okada with the Bucks, but absolutely love it. Sets up so many different options.
Heel Okada is inspired. Also use The Young Bucks to cut the promos. Okada has great charisma and his in ring is all that. But doing promos in a second language can be tough
Corporate Okada this will be interesting, let’s go!
CKO - love it
https://preview.redd.it/x22gwb70ptmc1.jpeg?width=1076&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=97c7f17bfaaad5fc2e8236551e20495f7d7b650c
SUIT OKADA LETS GO
Heel Okada with the dickhead EVP bucks as his mouth piece is gonna be fucking MONEY (pun intended).
God I love Okada
LMFAOOOO THAT WAS GREAT. I thought something was weird when Okada came out in a full suit
This is obviously not the most notable detail but I do appreciate that the Young Bucks are asshole heels for no particularly good reason but are still completely justified for suspending Hangman, who is completely justified for hating Swerve but he went too far this time. But part of it is that the Young Bucks were kinda dicks about Hangman's obsession then but are obviously correct about it now and are doing their EVP jobs correctly in this instance, but they're all still heels, I think and are still friends with Hangman, I think, but still did the right thing between not doing the right thing. ... Well thought out characterization and continuity is good!
Agreed good EVP decisions from the Bucks, they could totally manage a Target.
Not to mention sell out a bingo hall in Reseda.
Kenny vs Okada will main event Wembley lmao
Will Kenny be healthy for All In? Didn’t diverticulitis usually take a lot of time to be fully healed?
we can only hope TK said dont expect him on the May 1st show in Winnipeg
I think the main event is Ospreay winning the belt, but this is a hell of a comain. Oh and Danielson/McGuinness. Fucking hell.
Ospreay is like the one guy on the planet who can maaaaaybe follow that match. I would still main it Kenny vs Okada though, AEW aint afraid of putting the title 2nd from the top if they think something is bigger like BCC vs Elite or Sting's reitrement or the first Stadium Stampede
Ospreay, Kenny vs Okada, devil vs backstabber It’s a rough choice
Okada joining The Elite replacing Kenny Omega feels like insane fantasy booking but my god it's happening, Okada Omega 5. I am so ready for heel rainmaker
This feels like a way to get us to Kenny versus Okada quick, fast,and in a hurry.
Looks like maybe Okada taking belt off Kingston and bucks winning tag titles to me
There's a reason, they made the angle with Kingston. They could have used any faces on the promotion. It's clearly leading to Okada taking the Triple Crown belt and that's a great booking. What AEW was missing the last few years was another top guy having an intermediate title. There's no reason that the "midcard" titles are only for midcarders. Last year you had Okada IWGP champion and Omega US champion. Talk about star power. Clearly the AEW champion is gonna be Swerve and after that probably Ospreay and Okada just screams champion. The triple Crown title is perfect for Okada.
How many draft picks were exchanged here?
[удалено]
That came out of left field in the best way possible!!
All the releases come at this time of year
Okada vs Omega in Wembely.
Sorry Kenny gotta make those towns
_I_ for one am enjoying this version of the heel Bucks, I was worried it'd be too much "Lol get it McMahon" but they've been pretty standard terrible bosses. Watch them win the tags and just be heat machines with Okada
Yeah, it seemed to start as a dig at McMahon but the more I watch it the more I think it’s a roundabout dig at Punk. Punk said they couldn’t manage a Target, and here they are, giving out Amazon gift cards and firing people for being sick like managers of a Target.
Not even that. They're just bad white collar managers
I loved the Super Elite(Omega/Bucks/Gallows/Anderson/Cutler) in 2021 as a 96' NWO type faction, but I see potential in this emerging new faction. Corporate Kazu will be interesting, just curious who else the EVPs bring in. Cutler trading in the tye dye track suits and faceguard for a cheesey nite club suit would be perfect. Either way it's going to be a lot more entertaining than "Undisputed Kingdom"(AKA the most god awful faction in modern wrestling history)
Miro as a tracksuit mafiya guy
I love how it's "suspended from the Elite" and not from AEW. That's not even close to actual consequences for Hangman's actions.
No way Okada is going to beat Kingston for the titles and go straight back to Japan LMFAOOO
I was already excited to see Okada in AEW, but a HEEL Okada aligning himself with the Bucks rules harder than I could have ever imagined
Did not expect him coming in as a heel, let alone being with the Bucks. Well played to them. I was legit surprised.
I'M SORRY, WHAT?
Okada's Ferrari is gonna have to show up on AEW at some point.
Oh I'm definitely hoping for a Bang Bang Scissor Gang vs New Elite war soon
There’s a world out there where Okada wins the AEW World title at the same time the bucks are tag team champions, I hope that’s our future. The only way to stop them is for Kenny to get back with Hangman and recruit Ospreay. That 6 man tag would feed villages.
having okada come in as a heel is a pretty genius move imo, seperates him from his njpw ace character straight off and also he has been on fire in ring when he digs into the heelish stuff super fucking excited to see how this goes, okada/kingston should be fantastic
The main thing Okada needs is character. That's how he will become recognizable to the US audience who don't follow NJPW. This sets that up perfectly.
If ever there was a time for BTE to come back
So does this mean Hangman can still show up in AEW just not be elite
All Wrestling
this makes me much more interested in this than i previously was
This is a really good move imo. If the Bucks are going to be top heels, then let Okada be a heel with them and let Kenny be a singles star when he gets back. I hope he can return at 100% and be the actual star babyface he should have been from the beginning.
I love how Okada and Ospreay changed when coming to AEW. Ospreay went face and Okada went heel. Nice twist.
I didn’t get to watch live, did they give a reason for kicking out Kenny?
He’s missed work
Fuck.. just when BTE stopped doing new episodes. Okada would have been great in them.
Literally friendship with Kenny ended, Kazu is my new friend now
Definitely didn’t see heel Okada coming. And this sets up yet another classic Okada vs Omega match down the line.
Lets have skits of Okada being Director of Human Resources, acting like Kuma in a Tekken ending, and skits of him and the Bucks doing Crazy Fun while figuring out now folks to fine for silly thing on a boat....
Bucks proving themselves consistently some of the biggest backstabbers in wrestling (Omega learning what Devitt, Styles, Cole, Steen and others have learned); “Good Christian Boys” indeed. Arrogant asshole Okada is best Okada, imo.
It's something new
Okada gets to use the EVPVator now!
Bucks and Okada v Golden Lovers and Hangman when all are healthy
Start, bench, cut
Kenny will find out after he puts 100+ hours in FF7 Rebirth.
I like the move for Okada. Puts him in a good position and he doesn’t have to depend on his own promos in front of audiences.
So happy with the direction of The Elite in 2024.
Matt and Nick really said hangman² + kenny² = okada²
Okada as a heel and being aligned with the Young Bucks. Bold move, TK.
but what about CHAOS what about the Best Friends :(
Gotta be honest, did not give a fuck about Okada coming into AEW, but him replacing Kenny in the Elite??? And turning heel, holy shit I love this so much.
so many bizarro matchups with heel Okada in AEW
did literally anyone predict this?
Corporate heel Okada I'm absolutely interested. Super weird seeing him with Matt and Nick and calling themselves the elite. Strap me in I'm here for it