NJPW: 5 Ways The Landscape of New Japan Shifted With G1 Supercard

Rainmaker’s Redemption and The Dulling of The Switchblade

Everything has come full circle for Kazuchika Okada.

After being betrayed by Jay White and Gedo last year, Okada struggled to find his place in New Japan. Weird Okada was in full bloom, but he wasn’t the same Okada that everybody had come to know and love. The remnants of the Rainmaker slowly slipped away match after match until he hit his breaking point.

With a grudge match against White set for the Tokyo Dome, it was more important than ever before for Okada to return to form. At Wrestle Kingdom, Okada did bring back his signature Rainmaker bits and pieces – the proper entrance music, the extravagant entrance gear, and the shorts replacing tights.

Still, it wasn’t enough. In just 14 minutes, Jay White defeated Okada to shock the crowd in Tokyo. Suddenly, all of White’s boasting became a reality. He really was better without Okada and CHAOS, and the Rainmaker just wasn’t on his level.

Resiliently, Okada surged forward toward the New Japan Cup as White blazed new trails by becoming the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Okada poetically ripped through three members of CHAOS in the Cup before meeting SANADA in the final round.

The stars seemed to be aligned for SANADA to claim victory in his first Cup finals, but the power of the Rainmaker was too much for Cold Skull to handle. In just over 30 minutes, Okada punched his ticket for an IWGP Heavyweight Title match with Jay White in MSG at G1 Supercard

Despite the attempts of Gedo to turn the match in the favor of Jay White, and despite White’s own attempts to slow the pace and avoid the Rainmaker lariat at all costs, Okada gritted his teeth and leveled his opponent with a barrage of tombstone piledrivers and Rainmakers to become the IWGP Heavyweight Champion for the 5th time.

What does it mean for Jay White to drop the title on his first defense after holding the title for less than 60 days? Was everything White said leading up to Wrestle Kingdom actually true, or were his victories over Okada and Tanahashi flukes of a flash in the pan champion? After losing clean as a whistle to Okada, where does White go and how does he make any claim to the championship?

The clear path for any heavyweight on the roster is the summer’s G1 Climax, but does White have what it takes to outlast the massive two-block tournament?

After losing the IWGP Heavyweight Title, it took Okada nearly a year to get back to being the same man he was before he lost it. Does White have the will to fast track his way back to the title picture?

For Okada, the crowd of potential challengers is huge and ever-growing. White clearly has a grudge, but who else could be on the short list of possible G1 winners? After coming so close to upending Okada in the finals of the New Japan Cup, will SANADA have what it takes to redeem himself for a Tokyo Dome challenge?

Will Kota Ibushi attempt to fulfill the dream of Tetsuya Naito and become New Japan’s first double champion? Can Naito bounce back from a disappointing loss in Madison Square Garden to avenge his Wrestle Kingdom 12 loss to Okada in the Dome? Is the time truly now for Zack Sabre Jr after having vanquished Hiroshi Tanahashi? Or, does The Ace still have another G1 run left in him?

The coming months in New Japan will be all-important up and down the roster with the fallout of G1 Supercard rippling through every division in the company. It’s only a matter of time before we begin to see the Best of the Super Juniors, G1 Climax, and Wrestle Kingdom start to take shape.