As Kazuchika Okada pointed out, he owes a lot to Hiroshi Tanahashi for his success in pro wrestling, and in the same interview, was asked whether he sees the “Ace of NJPW’s” influence on his career as invaluable. “Yes. If it wasn’t for that first Osaka match, or if it wasn’t Tanahashi in that match, then the Rainmaker wouldn’t have become what the Rainmaker was,” he admitted. “Everybody would always say those matches were great. I do think in the end if you talk about the Rainmaker without mentioning Tanahashi, there would be a big hole there. He’s essential to everything about what the Rainmaker has been.”

Following his praise of Tanahashi, Okada was asked whether he could sum his rival’s impact on him in one word. “Summing it up is hard. He’s a rival, a friend, a senior, all those. Is it a cop out to say the one word is ‘intangible?'” Okada explained. “He’s a rival in so many ways, but he was a senpai who looked after me, who had kind big brother vibes about him, but someone I’ve hated, someone who frustrated me with how good he was. There’s just so much you can’t contain it in a couple of words, you can’t put your finger on it in that sense.” Despite being a heel in AEW, Okada seems to hold a deep level of respect for Tanahashi, but it remains to be seen whether his feelings toward his rival and mentor will affect him in their final clash.