Pro Wrestling Illustrated, one of the longest-running and most-respected pro wrestling publications of all-time, recently released their always-enjoyable and highly-debated PWI 500 List for 2017.
Coming in at the top of the long list as the number one wrestler in the world for the past year was New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kazuchika Okada.
Okada, who has long been rumored to possibly finally make the transition to WWE, was asked about his NJPW status and potential interest in joining WWE during an interview PWI conducted with him to accompany the special PWI 500 issue of the magazine.
“We’ve still got a long way to go,” said Okada in regards to his NJPW status, indicating that he might not be heading anywhere despite recent rumors to the contrary. “This [the shows in Long Beach, California] was our first time in the U.S., and in a 3,000-seat building. I want to target bigger venues and make the world aware of New Japan, and of how awesome Kazuchika Okada is.”
When asked about his potential interest in making the jump from NJPW to WWE, Okada didn’t hold back his thoughts, going as far as to make the claim that “New Japan is far superior to WWE.”
“It’s not something I think about,” said Okada when asked about possibly making the move to WWE. “New Japan is far superior to WWE when it comes to the quality of the roster and the quality of the matches.”
While he had no problem sharing his opinion about NJPW’s superiority to WWE, the Japanese mega-star was also quick to dish out an honest compliment directed at some familiar faces currently working in WWE.
“One thing I will say is that I do pay attention to what Finn Balor, A.J. [Styles], and [Shinsuke] Nakamura are doing, and they look like they’re having fun,” said Okada. “I might want to wrestle them again someday, but I might want to do that in New Japan. Hell, I might want to be like some other people and become a movie star or join the UFC. You never know.”
Check out more from the Kazuchika Okada interview from the special PWI 500 issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine online for free, PWI-Online.com.
The @OfficialPWI 500 is ready for order right now in print & digital at https://t.co/Ip3ocrA39F. Congratulations, Kazuchika Okada! pic.twitter.com/LZiKfvIOSg
— PWI (@OfficialPWI) August 30, 2017
