Kazuchika Okada‘s departure from New Japan Pro-Wrestling has been known for some time as he fulfilled his remaining commitments with the company. The expectation is that he will join AEW, and the only question is when he will make his debut with the company — whether it will be at Revolution on Sunday or in a subsequent show.
Even with a busy March, from Sting’s retirement match and Will Ospreay’s full-time debut at Revolution to the teased debut of Mercedes Mone at Big Business, it seems AEW has room for more next month to showcase its next big splash.
According to Fightful Select, AEW is tentatively planning for Okada to “be in the fold” by the Mar. 6 episode of Dynamite. Tony Khan also said on Thursday’s Revolution media call that he’s very excited about something for next week’s Dynamite.
Fightful noted they have heard “plenty of discussion” about Okada’s potential debut on that episode, but numerous sources said the hope as of mid-February was for him to be in the company by then.
The 36-year-old’s AEW debut seems imminent, and one can expect the company to position him as a big star. With an already crowded roster vying for television time on Dynamite, Revolution, Rampage and subsequent pay-per-views, the approach to integrating the Rainmaker into the fold will be interesting, similar to how AEW is incorporating Ospreay, starting with his match at Revolution against Konosuke Takeshita.
Okada is technically not a newcomer to AEW, having participated in the AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door event and teamed with Orange Cassidy in a Dynamite tag match in October 2023. That familiarity may have been an influence over signing with WWE, along with an abundance of opportunities for fresh feuds.
As AEW wraps up the Sting era on Sunday, it seems they are promptly ushering in a new era with plenty of big business.