AEW star Mark Henry wants a bidding war for "unbelievable talent" in 2024
AEW's Mark Henry has stated that a war is coming, pitting top wrestling promotions to sign perhaps the hottest free agent of the next few months.
Of course, we are talking about none other than Japanese sensation Kazuchika Okada. As reported by NJPW, the popular star is set to leave the company once his contract expires at the end of January 2024. But he will still be working three dates for them in February.
The star power and work ethic of The Rainmaker make him a hot commodity that every promotion would want to acquire for themselves. Moreover, Mark Henry recently stated on Busted Open Radio that he expects to see top wrestling giants with money go head-to-head in their attempts to sign Okada.
"If you have the money to spend, you should try to get that guy. He is an unbelievable talent and you could put him with anybody, and they're gonna be better right away. You put him with your greatest guys, and now you have the means to put [together] a main event, for every pay-per-view."
He further added:
"It's going to come down to 'Hey, this is what I'm worth.' So, in America, you don't get the 15,000-dollar sponsorship handshakes." (h/t Wrestling Inc)
Wrestling veteran believes Kazuchika Okada would make more money in AEW than WWE
As mentioned, many top promotions, including WWE and AEW, are expected to try to sign Kazuchika Okada to their respective rosters. However, wrestling veteran Jim Cornette gave his opinion on which option could be more viable for him.
Cornette openly stated on his Drive-Thru podcast that he believes Okada would make more money in Tony Khan's company while his own strengths would play much better in AEW rather than the Stamford-based promotion.
"Okada is great in the ring. But how would WWE market him? Are they gonna do another deal where they make the Nakamura videos and do subtitles, and he's an evil Japanese fellow? Or do they make him a babyface with limited ability to communicate in promos? How would that work in a company that is literally monologuing and soliloquizing us to death on a regular basis?" he said. [5:20 - 5:53]
With the date of his NJPW contract expiry rapidly approaching, it will interesting to see where The Rainmaker eventually lands for the next chapter of his wrestling career.
Which promotion do you think Kazuchika Okada will sign with? Sound off in the comments!