Aaron Wolf Reveals He Consulted With Kazuchika Okada After Overseas Wrestling Organization Reached Out, Okada Told Him NJPW Was The Place To Learn

Details about NJPW signing Olympic Gold medalist Aaron Wolf.

Wolf said Okada’s advice helped him to make his decision.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling held a press conference to announce the signing of Olympic Gold medalist Aaron Wolf. The judo athlete’s in-ring debut for the company is being targeted for Wrestle Kingdom 20 in January 2026.

Tokyo Sports caught up with Wolf after his introductory press conference. The article notes that after the Paris Olympics in 2024, an overseas organization that is larger than NJPW reached out to Wolf. 

Wolf, who did not know much about the wrestling business, decided to contact seven-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and current AEW talent Kazuchika Okada. He asked Okada where the best place to learn pro wrestling from the ground up is, and Okada told him NJPW is the place to be.

“’If I’m going to do pro wrestling, where is the best place to do it?’ He replied, ‘If you want to learn pro wrestling from scratch, New Japan Pro-Wrestling is the place to be.’ Those words also helped me make this decision.”

There is an additional write-up about Wolf from Tokyo Sports, which has more details about his NJPW signing. 

Yuji Nagata and Wolf had been in contact via social media since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Nagata is a trainer at the New Japan dojo. After the 2024 Paris Olympics, Wolf appeared on Nagata’s YouTube channel and made a positive joke about joining NJPW. New Japan then approved a dinner arrangement between Nagata and Wolf in the fall of 2024, and it was there that an offer was made. 

Wolf’s transition into pro wrestling did not happen immediately because he planned to continue doing Judo until June 2025, but he wanted to pursue wrestling afterwards. When June rolled around, negotiations with NJPW picked back up.

Nagata expressed his opinion that Wolf could become an ‘ace’ someday.

“He’s incredibly well-known and could become an ace someday. He definitely has the talent and ability to be a top-class wrestler. He trains and practices with a humble attitude, so I have high expectations for him.”

Wolf is 29 years old and has secured gold in judo at the 2020 Olympic Games, 2017 World Judo Championships, and 2021 Asian Judo Championships.