NJPW's Kazuchika Okada Reveals He Tested Positive For COVID-19

During a recent interview with Radio Oshabering (via Tokyo Sports), Kazuchika Okada revealed he tested positive for COVID-19 during New Japan Pro-Wrestling's recent outbreak.

The company was struck by an outbreak earlier this month around the Wrestling Dontaku event and nine wrestlers ended up testing positive for COVID-19.

Okada noted he tested negative on the antigen test, but he developed a fever soon after and lost his sense of taste. He tested positive once given the PCR test.

Okada said (translated using Deepl): "I thought, 'That's weird, maybe it's just a cold,' but then I couldn't taste anything. I thought it was bad, so I asked the company to let me take a PCR, and it turned out to be positive."

The Rainmaker has since recovered and his taste buds have returned to normal. 

Following the nine positive tests and the extension of the state of emergency in Japan, NJPW postponed the Wrestle Grand Slam shows. They have since resumed touring over the weekend but Okada will not be in action.