This year's Wrestle Kingdom from New Japan-Pro Wrestling was a two-night spectacular, highlighted by a Double Gold Dash, which means that the winner of the IWGP Intercontinental and IWGP Heavyweight title fights would meet on the second night of the event in a champion versus champion match.
Kazuchika Okada was in the main event of both nights of Wrestle Kingdom 14, and it's not something he ever wants to do again.
Speaking with the official website of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, “The Rainmaker” opened up about how grueling a task it was to headline inside the Tokyo Dome on back-to-back nights. Okada would say that it was mentally and physically exhausting and is not an advocate whatsoever for it being repeated.
“Too much physical punishment, a lot of mental strain as well. I don’t want anyone thinking that it was an easy undertaking at all,” Okada would say. “Doing one of those matches in itself is one thing, but to get back after the fourth, and then have to think ‘oh man, I have to go again tomorrow.' I’m not going to make excuses for why I lost here, but two big singles matches, and not just that, two Tokyo Dome main event level matches back to back is not something I’d be in favor of again.
"I’m not saying that it was because of this situation that I lost on night two. But, and I haven’t said this to anyone in the company before, even, but when I got to the back, it just hit me like a wall, mentally. It was more than I had imagined. I mean, it’s not entirely different on paper than the G1. There you have the B Block final, and then the final the next night. But two IWGP Championship matches on back to back nights is something completely different in practice. It’s more like two outright G1 finals back to back, something that nobody would ask of anyone. I mean even in terms of ring time alone.”
Okada also spoke with New Japan about his desire to make 2020 a strong year for pro wrestling in spite of this Coronavirus outbreak. You can read his comments on that matter at this link.
