The show is notable for featuring the NJPW return of Kazuchika Okada and the debut of his "Rainmaker" persona
Wrestle Kingdom VI featured the NJPW return of Kazuchika Okada. Okada was a rookie in 2010, when NJPW, through their international connections, sent him to the American Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion to gain experience and grow as a wrestler. During his one and a half years in TNA, Okada did little of note; he was dressed up like Kato from The Green Hornet, dubbed "Okato" and made Samoa Joe's sidekick in an angle with D'Angelo Dinero, wrestling only a handful of actual matches.[3][8] TNA's poor handling of Okada was one of the key factors in NJPW ceasing their relationship with the American promotion, which made Wrestle Kingdom VI the first Tokyo Dome show in five years to not feature any wrestlers from the company.[9][10] On December 9, 2011, NJPW announced that Okada would return to the promotion at Wrestle Kingdom VI, facing Yoshi-Hashi,[11] who was making his own return from the Mexican Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion, with whom NJPW also had a working relationship, where, unlike Okada, he had been wrestling a full schedule and improving.[3] Upon his return to NJPW, Okada created himself a new villainous persona named "Rainmaker".[12]
In their NJPW return match, Kazuchika Okada defeated Yoshi-Hashi in quick fashion.[3] Following the main event of the show, Okada confronted Tanahashi and challenged him to a match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.[2] The event also featured a match that saw NJPW's Wataru Inoue and Yuji Nagata take on AJPW's mixed martial arts duo of Masakatsu Funaki and Masayuki Kono in what marked Funaki's first NJPW match in 20 years.[1] Intended as a starting point in a rivalry between Nagata and Funaki, the match ended in a "disaster", when Nagata crushed Funaki's face with a knee strike, legitimately breaking his nose and left orbital bone. The injury required surgery and sidelined Funaki for six months.[3]
Reception
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter was positive in his review of the show, offering particular praise to Hiroshi Tanahashi, whom he credited with bringing a new audience to NJPW, comparing him to Bret Hart and John Cena as someone who has the "aura of a top guy". Meltzer wrote that "[w]hile most sports are declining in popularity in Japan, New Japan Pro Wrestling has started making small steps in growing over the past three years". Meltzer highlighted Kazuchika Okada as part of the show that did not work, writing that he did not look impressive and was "completely unconvincing" in his new role as a "cocky playboy".[3]
Aftermath
A month after Wrestle Kingdom VI, Kazuchika Okada defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi at The New Beginning to become the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion in what NJPW called the "upset of the century".[14] The general reaction in Japan to the title change was negative. Dave Meltzer was also negative on the title change, writing that Okada looked "green" and was hard to take seriously as either a main eventer or a title threat.[15] By the time Okada lost the title the following June, Meltzer wrote that he had silenced his critics, writing that his reign "[had] to be considered, in hindsight, a success far beyond what anyone could have reasonably hoped for".[16] During the following years, Okada established himself as one of the biggest stars in Japanese professional wrestling, becoming a multi-time winner of both the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and NJPW's premier tournament, the G1 Climax.[12]
^ abcdefMeltzer, Dave (January 16, 2012). "Jan 16 Observer Newsletter: Cyborg busted for steroids, all the details, Edge and Horsemen going into WWE Hall, New Japan Dome Show review, 30 year Muchnick retrospective, TNA and Strikeforce shows, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. pp. 10–12. ISSN1083-9593.
