Kazuchika Okada wins final NJPW match at The New Beginning

Kazuchika Okada is leaving NJPW on a winning streak. 

The Rainmaker scored a pinfall victory in his final match as a full-time member of NJPW’s roster at Saturday’s The New Beginning in Sapporo event, pinning United Empire’s Callum Newman in a 10-man tag in his swan song. 

In the bout pitting Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and Toru Yano of CHAOS against United Empire’s Matt Riddle, Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, Francesco Akira, and Newman, Okada landed all of his signature offense including his trademark dropkick, a landslide, and finished the bout with his Rainmaker lariat. 

In a promo after the match, Okada thanked the fans in Sapporo for 17 years and promised the crowd that they would see him again.

Okada won all of his final four matches with NJPW, including a NEVER Openweight Six-Man title defense where he vacated the title immediately after, a singles win over Hiroshi Tanahashi, plus wins in multi-man tags on both nights of The New Beginning in Sapporo this weekend. 

Tanahashi had originally been slated to team with Okada in his finale, but an ankle injury forced Tana off Saturday’s card and he was replace by Yano. 

Okada announced his intention to leave NJPW in January when his contract expired at the end of the month. He agreed to three February dates to finish up with the promotion.

Our full coverage of NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo is here.