Wrestling Thread 8: Follow The Buzzards • Page 391

According to WON, Kenny’s inflammation was so bad as of a week ago that he still didn’t have surgery :(

And AEW is believed to have made the strongest first offer for Okada but no deal is signed and WWE is of the belief that they have a strong shot to get him

 

Okada going to WWE would get me to follow WWE again at least a little. I don’t think i’m the only one who would go back to watching some out of the people who stopped the last few years.

 

Hogan heard about Okada leaving and texted HHH about him doing a match with Okada as the evil Japanese heel managed by Mr Fuji throwing salt in Hulk's eyes before kicking out of the Rainmaker

 

my Peacock subscription ends 1/28 so I can still watch the Rumble, that’s cool.

 

Watch Okada’s first AEW feud be with Jericho lol

 

I wonder for Okada, would a company do a hype video package for a few weeks, or have him be a surprise appearance in a match / end of match?

Wasn’t there an article a few weeks ago that talked about how a surprising amount of WWE fans legit thought Punk had not wrestled since 2014? I could see Okada needing a video/hype train before he appears in WWE so their audience knows who he is vs AEW fans and the collaboration between companies would make their audience more likely to recognize him and know who he is right away.

If WWE just throws him out there as a surprise I wonder what the audience reaction would be (especially if it was a legit surprise apppearance)

 

ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeee

 

AEW can get away with him being a surprise. I’m sure WWE could too but it makes a lot of sense to do a press conference for Okada if he went to WWE. Present him as a big deal. Because the casual WWE fan knows absolutely nothing about Japanese wrestling.

 

Nyla is the best

 

This segment and her match last night were really good. She's gonna be so fun in ROH.

 

Having not watched any TNA last year, I'm actually pleased with my results.

That being said, this did get me interested in checking out some TNA again. I pulled up Bailey/Ospreay on YouTube and holy shit! What a match!

 

Ultimo Dragon said on his instagram Okada hasn't made a decision yet on where he's signing, just that he's leaving New Japan. WON seems to be backing the report that Okada hasn't signed a deal anywhere

 

all that said, I'm bummed he's leaving New Japan. I don't watch most of their shows, but thought it was best for the industry as a whole for him to stay there and help build a young crop of talent. NJPW is in a tough spot right now

he'll do well no matter where he goes. the worry with aew is not how he'll be treated, its more of the impact his being inserted into tv will have on other performers. the company already has too many people and not enough tv

 

I think they'd go the AJ Styles route. Trust that your Rumble audience is smarky enough to know who he is; let Cole put him over on commentary, let him take out a few big names and then get dumped after 15-20mins.

And then you do all the hype videos, put him in the chamber, and maybe run him against like Gunther at Mania

 

That spot where Speedball is starting his multi-spin corner kick and Ospreay completely fucks him with an elbow will live in my brain for a while.

 

If Okada were to sign with WWE, which I don't think he will, I don't think he'd be on Raw until the Raw after Mania. That crowd will know who he is and go bonkers for him. He'll be treated like a massive deal right from the get go, rather than rushing him to TV and trying to get him on a program for Mania

 

Rumble would be the best way but he’s got a handful of dates left in February. Raw after Mania sounds good but last years was so fucking awful that I wouldn’t trust the crowd to care.

New Japan is gonna be in the trenches. They essentially spent multiple years elevating talent that left with..talent that eventually left.

 

I’ll die on the do a press conference hill for Okada. Get a bunch of media. Sit HHH and Nick Khan up there and present him like a giant deal.

 

While I'd normally agree, its Philly and if they're firing on all cylinders, the crowd will go with it

 

https://www.si.com/fannation/wrestling/news/kazuchika-okada-deciding-between-wwe-and-aew


tldr New Japan was not surprised, AEW is the favorite to land him. HHH is very interested and Okada has always wanted to do a Mania

 

I think I'd prefer to see Okada in WWE