Back in 2011 I decided to host a private wrestling show in the place where it all began, my mother’s backyard. The main event match would see Okada vs. Chris Bishop vs. Lionel Knight in a three-way dance for the UWA Championships.

The truth is, I could fill a book writing stories about Okada, but to keep this brief, I met Okada back in 2006 during my first trip to the Toryumon Dojo in Mexico. I remember telling Ultimo Dragon, after training with Okada for the first time, how special he was in the ring. After seeing that Okada and I had become good friends, Ultimo Dragon asked me to take him under my wing for about 2 years (off and on) to teach him western wrestling psychology.

For a time Okada lived in my mother’s basement next to a parrot named ‘Romeo’. Years later, Okada was one of the best men at my wedding. And soon after that, he was turning the wrestling world upside down and doing the unthinkable.

Long before Okada was the New Japan IWGP World Champion, he defeated both Lionel and Chris Bishop to become the UWA Triple Crown Champion. I’ll admit to you that when Okada held our titles in the air I shed a tear. I knew in that moment that I had a champion who encompassed everything that the UWA championship belts represent.

So now you’re all asking the same question, when will we see Okada?

And I’ll answer by saying, why don’t we create something for him to come home to first?

Okada is waiting!