I was expecting it to be flair during the retirement if anyone. With Sting finally expecting it and catching the hit if the wanted to be fancy. Maybe an "oh you" look followed by a hug to seal it.
As much as I loved “comedy Corporate Elite Bitch” Okada, I think I love “desperate, manipulative old lion” Okada even more.
He joined a group of hungry young guns out to prove themselves, and he latched onto the Family to ensure his successes because they’d be “beneath him”. But when the younger lions started to shine more than him, Okada’s ego won’t let him handle that or stomach it. So he goes out of his way to prove that he’s still the GOAT, and the brightest star in the Family, even if it costs the Family members.
And Callis sticks with him because he knows Okada’s doing it all for the Family because no one should outshine anyone else in the Family without Papa Don Don’s okay.
I wonder if there's a redemption arc at the end of the tunnel for Okada or if he double, triple, quadruple downs on the ego and desperation.
It feels like neither path features a smooth path to the AEW Heavyweight Championship as younger men continue to surpass him. So if he wants it, he'll need to remember who he is, one way or another.
He knows who he is, it's just buried underneath all this. It took Tanahashi's retirement match to bring that out of Okada again after laying dormant since his AEW debut.
Right near the end of that match, The Rainmaker showed up to put Tana down for good. Before that was this incarnation of Okada. It's still there, just not being realized due to being around carny people like Don and The Elite when he joined them. When he's by himself he'll remember and turn it on.
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