Have you taken a moment to think about our IWGP Heavyweight Champion (Gedo voice) THE RAINMAKER (end Gedo voice) Kazuchika Okada yet today? Hey, if you haven’t, that’s okay. We all slip up sometimes. But now AXS TV, the exclusive American broadcaster of New Japan Pro Wrestling, is making it easier for fans to appreciate the 700+ day champ.
On weeknights from May 30 to June 14, leading up their broadcast of his historic twelfth successful title defense at Wrestling Dontaku against Hiroshi Tanahashi, AXS will air each of the matches from Okada’s current championship reign at 5 a.m. Eastern/2 a.m. Pacific Time.
Here’s the Okada marathon schedule, per AXS TV press release:
5/30 – Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito – Dominion 6.19 – June 19, 2016
5/31 – Okada vs. Naomichi Marufuji – King of Pro-Wrestling 2016 – Oct. 10, 2016
6/1 – Okada vs. Kenny Omega – Wrestle Kingdom 11 – Jan. 4, 2017
6/4 – Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki – The New Beginning in Sapporo 2017 – Feb. 5, 2017
6/5 – Okada vs. Katsuyori Shibata – Sakura Genesis 2017 – April 9, 2017
6/6 – Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale – Wrestling Dontaku 2017 – May 3, 2017
6/7 – Okada vs. Omega – Dominion 6.11 – June 11, 2017
6/8 – Okada vs. Cody – G1 SPECIAL IN USA – July 1, 2017
6/11 – Okada vs. EVIL – King of Pro-Wrestling 2017 – Oct. 9, 2017
6/12 – Okada vs. Naito – Wrestle Kingdom 12 – Jan. 4, 2018
6/13 – Okada vs. SANADA – The New Beginning in Osaka 2018 – Feb. 10, 2018
6/14 – Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Sakura Genesis 2018 – April 1, 2018
6/15 at 8pE/5pP – Okada vs. Tanahashi – Wrestling Dontaku 2018 – May 4, 2018
For those who primarily keep up with NJPW on New Japan World, this block of programming could also be a fun way to catch up with Okada’s defenses (including 2/3 of the acclaimed Omega/Okada trilogy) before he faces Kenny Omega at Dominion on June 9.
