AEW finding Kazuchika Okada a new "slick-taking" manager alongside The Bucks could elevate him, says former WCW star
Former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada recently signed with AEW. Some fans think that Okada might struggle to connect with the audience because he does not speak English fluently. A former WCW star pointed out a simple and classic solution to that issue: a manager.
That WCW star is Kevin Sullivan, who came up with the solution on the Tuesday with the Taskmaster podcast.
"How do you put him over and yourself over in a two-minute interview?How do you elevate him to your level? And this isn't a bad thing, it's great to have great talent, but they better be looking for a slick-talking manager for him ... You better protect your investment and you better find somebody that compliments him, and that's only his job to get Okada over, not splitting it. Come on, let's put it under a microscope and turn it in and dial it in," he said. [H/T: WrestlingINC.com]
The concept of managers working with wrestlers who do not talk much is a classic wrestling trope, and the likes of Yokozuna had Mr. Fuji, and The Undertaker had Paul Bearer. Even in modern times, The Beast, Brock Lesnar, had Paul Heyman as his advocate.
Okada made his AEW debut on Dynamite and shocked everyone by turning heel, joining forces with the New Young Bucks.
Matt Hardy has criticized Will Ospreay-Konosuke Takeshita match at AEW:Revolution
Former WWE star Matt Hardy recently criticized the match that Ospreay and Takeshita put up at AEW: Revolution.
While speaking on an episode of his podcast, The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the veteran stated that even though the match was great, the storyline wasn't strong.
"I loved the match, I thought the match was great. Considering the story wasn't strong, that made me not feel their match as much as I felt the other two matches. That match, in particular, because I knew there wasn't a heated, hated rivalry between them or really those huge stakes in the match that made me not quite invested in the match. Coming into it as it was, there wasn't this buildup to this match, that made me not as invested in the match," he said.
Looks like Konosuke Takeshita has a long way to go in AEW, and only time will tell if he will have a long stint in the company. Ospreay, however, has seemingly impressed with the start of his full-time stint in AEW.