The biggest name in Japanese professional wrestling just told Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to “Just Bring It!”
With New Japan Pro Wrestling holding its latest United States live event Strong Style Evolved in Long Beach, California on Sunday, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada posted a photo of himself at the local Rock Bottom Brewery, pointing at the sign while tagging Johnson’s twitter account.
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@TheRock pic.twitter.com/L3fRKE8XX6
โ ใชใซใใปใซใบใใซ (@rainmakerXokada) March 26, 2018
For those who don’t follow New Japan, Okada has quickly established himself as one of the best wrestlers to emerge from Japan in the past two decades. His current reign as IWGP champ (the same title held by the likes of AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar and Shinsuke Nakamura) at 645 days, the longest in the titles 31-year history. At just 30 years old, “The Rainmaker” became the first Japanese wrestler in history to be ranked No. 1 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Top 500 Wrestlers in the World list in 2017, has eight matches with a five-star rating or higher from Wrestling Observer Newsletter‘s Dave Meltzer and has main evented five of the last six annual WrestleKingdom events, New Japan’s equivalent of WrestleMania.
Johnson has yet to respond to Okada’s callout, but that didn’t stop wrestling fans from losing their minds on Twitter.
Holy sh*t I had never even considered a Rock Vs Okada match and now itโs all I want!!!
โ #Woken Rufio Rush (@RufioRush) March 26, 2018
OKADA’S GOING TO ROCK BOTTOM: IN YOUR HOUSE! https://t.co/3SkkQcb9NC
โ Raven Cyarm (@RavenCyarm) March 26, 2018
uh oh pic.twitter.com/nufYmUPAOq
โ Joey Hickmann (@JoeyHickmann) March 26, 2018
Jesus, yes, @TheRock vs. @rainmakerXokada in an @njpwglobal @njpw1972 ring, with @njpwworld broadcasting it around the globe, will be huge. Please can this happen? https://t.co/Nl3sU8hYTp
โ NuclearConvoy (@NuclearConvoy) March 26, 2018
Dave asked Okada if there were any wrestlers who he hasn’t faced that he would like to see cone to New Japan…
“The Rock.”
โ JJ Williams (@JJWilliamsWON) March 24, 2018
Kazuchika Okada gave and @ to The Rock.
I’d say “not in million years”, but Chris Jericho is in a feud with Tetsuya Naito, and nobody knows anything about anymore.
โ David J. Majors, Djm @ a place (@PleaseCallMeDjm) March 26, 2018
“Holy sh*t I had never even considered a Rock Vs Okada match and now it’s all I want!!!” Rufio Rush wrote.
“Jesus, yes, @TheRock vs. @rainmakerXokada in an @njpwglobal @njpw1972 ring, with @njpwworld broadcasting it around the globe, will be huge. Please can this happen?” @NuclearConvoy tweeted.
“Kazuchika Okada gave and @ to The Rock. I’d say “not in million years”, but Chris Jericho is in a feud with Tetsuya Naito, and nobody knows anything about anymore,” @PleaseCallMeDjm wrote.
During an interview with Cageside Seats prior to Sunday’s event at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Okada said if there was any wrestler in the world he wanted to come to New Japan for a match, it would be Johnson.
The promotion recently had Chris Jericho make a surprise appearance for a match with Kenny Omega at WrestleKingdom 12 despite still be a self-proclaimed “company man” with WWE. So while it’s an incredibly long shot, it’s not entirely impossible for this dream match to happen.
New Japan announced during Sunday’s show that it will return to the United States on July 7 for the G1 Special at the Cow Palace arena in San Francisco.
Photo: WWE.com