Opponent For Kazuchika Okada At NJPW Battle In The Valley Revealed

New Japan Pro-Wrestling will return to San Jose, California, on February 18 for NJPW Battle in the Valley 2023. The event sold out in January largely due to the debut of Mercedes Moné, but since the rest of the stacked card has been announced, it is safe to say that this is one of the most anticipated North American events in NJPW history. While several championship matches have been announced for the show in recent weeks, the presumed main event match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship remained unknown. However, that changed at NJPW's The New Beginning in Osaka event when it was confirmed that one of the greatest rivalries in NJPW history would be renewed in San Jose.

In two of the key matches that took place at The New Beginning in Osaka, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated KENTA in a special singles match, and Kazuchika Okada successfully defended his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Los Ingobernables de Japon's Shingo Takagi. As the show came to an end with the "Rainmaker" standing tall, Okada called out Tanahashi and challenged him to a match at Battle in the Valley. Tanahashi accepted, making the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match official on just one week's notice.

While Okada and Tanahashi have taken their legendary feud to North America once before, their upcoming match at Battle in the Valley will be the first championship bout between the rivals outside of Japan. Moreover,  the match will end the longest period without a championship match between Okada and Tanahashi since Okada's reemergence in 2012. It has been nearly five years since the pair last battled in a championship match, with Okada overcoming Tanahashi for the fifth time at Wrestling Dontaku 2018.