Though he now regularly performs in AEW after signing there last year, this is not Kazuchika Okada's first rodeo with an American wrestling promotion. Prior to becoming the biggest star in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Okada went on what's referred to as a "foreign excursion" as a young man, making his way to America to wrestle in TNA (AKA Impact Wrestling).While he didn't yet have the imposing physique he'd one day achieve, Okada was already viewed as a future star in NJPW by 2010, and the company hoped to encourage his development by sending him overseas. However, things didn't go as planned.
Okada started off with a steady losing streak in both televised and dark matches. Throughout the entirety of his run, from March 2010 until June 2011, Okada wrestled 19 matches in TNA. During that time, he picked up exactly one televised victory, and it was a disqualification.
In the latter part of his time with TNA, Okada was partnered up with Samoa Joe, which sounds like a great idea on paper. In execution, it was a disaster for Okada. If his win-loss record wasn't insulting enough, the company changed the wrestler's name to Okato and saddled him with a presentation inspired by Kato, Bruce Lee's character from "The Green Hornet." Okato didn't last long, but the damage had been done.
Following his one and only DQ win on "TNA Impact!," Okada reverted to his real name on TV, but his time with the promotion was nonetheless coming to an end. He returned to NJPW before the end of that year.
Okada's TNA run was looked upon so negatively that it was said to have damaged the working relationship between the promotion and NJPW. Years later, TNA executive Scott D'Amore was reported to have personally apologized to Okada in Japan for the way he was booked.
While Okada wasn't entirely satisfied with his time in America, his TNA run did result in one positive: it's where he met two friends, Nick and Matt Jackson of the Young Bucks. The relationship would prove fruitful for all three over the course of their careers. The two brothers would later reunite with Okada in NJPW, where they served as bitter enemies during Okada's long-lasting rivalry with Kenny Omega. Once Okada felt he had done all he could do in NJPW, he began looking at the possibility of wrestling full-time in America, and he eventually signed with AEW, where Nick and Matt were Executive VicePresidents.
In a strange stroke of fate, it turned out that Okada wasn't entirely done with TNA. Early last year, before joining AEW full-time, the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion wrestled one match in TNA, teaming up with The Motor City Machine Guns to defeat Moose, Brian Myers, and Eddie Edwards, and tying up a loose end from earlier in his career.
