36-year-old star makes a surprising comment amid reported WWE and AEW interest

One of the biggest stars who's suppsedly hitting free agency this coming year has just made a statement regarding his future. He has hinted at not signing with either WWE or AEW. The star in question would be NJPW's Kazuchika Okada.

His contract is reportedly set to expire by early 2024, possibly after Wrestle Kingdom in January. Although the Japanese promotion would certainly be looking to re-sign him, he could listen to the pitches of other major promotions and sign with them instead.

Recently on NJPW Road to the Tokyo Dome, Kazuchika Okada, alongside Hiroshi Tanashi and Tomohiro Ishii successfully defended their NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles against United Empire. Okada then spoke after the match, and claimed that he would keep defending the titles and putting on a show in NJPW the next year also. He could possibly end up turning down signing with either WWE or AEW.

"It might be too early to decide Match of the Year, but matches like this one is why these NEVER Six-Man Tag Team Titles are gaining prestige. We're gonna keep defending these belts next year and heat up NJPW more than ever. We're going to heat up both the singles and tag divisions. We're not just limiting ourselves to tag matches. We can liven things up in a lot of ways. We're gonna carry this place on our backs. We're the team that can handle it." [H/T Fightful]

At Wrestle Kingdom 18 on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome, The Rainmaker will take on former WWE Champion Bryan Danielson in a rematch following their great bout at Forbidden Door.

---

Kazuchika Okada reportedly not on WWE's immediate radar

A recent report has talked about WWE's interest in Kazuchika Okada. Following prior reports that they wanted to sign him, this was not the case now, as he was no longer on their immediate radar.

A report by Fight Fans recently shed light on the situation, as a source mentioned that they were not expecting The Rainmaker to make his way to the promotion.

There may be several reasons why Okada may choose not to sign with either WWE or AEW moving forward. He and his wife, popular voice actress Suzuko Mimori, now have a family, and thus relocating could be an issue.

This may be a big reason for his re-signing with New Japan Pro-Wrestling. This would still allow him to be based in Japan, and if Tony Khan and AEW wished for him to make an appearance, like they did earlier this year, these wouldn't be long-term which would work for him.

What are your reactions to the possibility that Kazuchika Okada stays with NJPW? Let us know in the comments section below.