Kazuchika Okada will return to TNA for the first time since in 12 years in January at Snake Eyes live from Las Vegas. From 2010 to 2011 Okada appeared in TNA under the NJPW banner but the relationship was soured after realizing that it wasn’t what he was expecting, especially in regards to how he was used within the company.ย
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In September, Okada spoke backstage during the road to NJPW Destruction in Ryogoku, where he teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii to defend the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Titles against Josh Alexander, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin of the Motor City Machine Guns. Okada made it known that he “doesn’t give a d–n about IMPACT.” “IMPACT Wrestling? Give me a break. There’s not a promotion I hate more in this world! But I was a pretty big Motor City fan back in the day,” be said at the time. “A little while back, we faced them in a tag three-way. I know exactly how good they are, but this is a three-on-three NEVER six-man match, and we’re walking in champions. Being the face of NJPW, I can say that I hate…Actually, I don’t give a damn about IMPACT. Who I really hated was TNA.”
Earlier this week Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso reported that NJPW’s Ace, Okada, would be entering free agency in 2024. Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp quickly corroborated the report on his social media. His current contract is said to expire at the end of January.
Snake Eyes, the fall out from Hard to Kill, emanates from Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on January 14. Tickets to both events are currently on sale via Ticketmaster.com. The events will kick off the new era of TNA as IMPACT announced earlier this year they would be changing the name back. Okada’s shocking return announcement comes days after WrestleTix reported on the shockingly low ticket sales. Soon after, TNA announced that recent AEW signee Will Ospreay is set for an appearance at the event following his string of matches against Mike Bailey, Eddie Edwards and Josh Alexander earlier this year.
