Mark Henry bemoans Kazuchika Okada's struggles in AEW

When AEW announced they had signed Kazuchika Okada from New Japan Pro Wrestling, the fan base was tangiblely excited. At the time, Okada was viewed as one of the top five talents in the world. 

Okada has extensive big-match experience, including multiple spells of carrying a promotion on his shoulders. He fits the mold of an elite in-ring wrestler who can tell a story through his actions rather than his words.

Yet, since making the move to the United States, Okada has become somewhat of a mascot. He rarely wrestles. And when he does, it's often a throw-away match with little context, meaning or impact on a storyline. Instead, he's a comedic act, dropping one-liners and being a cheerleader for The Elite.

According to WWE Hall of Famer and former AEW employee Mark Henry, Okada's tenure in AEW (so far) has been a disappointment. He believes the creative team is doing Okada an incredible disservice. 

“[Kazuchika Okada] was one of the best wrestlers in the world, top five, and now you have him relegated to saying ‘B****’ to pop the crowd," Henry said on a recent episode of "Busted Open" podcast "Let him go and work, man. That dude is amazing...I want to hear the coin drop and people say, ‘Oh man, it’s about to go down,’ not people hearing the coin drop and saying, ‘Oh boy, here we go.'”

Okada isn't the only recent addition to struggle in AEW. Jay White was reportedly coveted by both WWE and Tony Khan's company. Yet, since joining AEW, he has been mired in mid-card obscurity. It makes little sense for the company to continue adding these high-level talents only to bury them in roles that don't fit their skill sets. 

Perhaps that's why Eric Bischoff recently accused AEW of hurting the value of some of the company's top talents. 

"Does anybody feel like they have more value and equity in the marketplace today than they did before they came to AEW?" Bischoff said in a recent episode of his "83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff" podcast. "Quite frankly, I think Mercedes Mone's character has just taken a giant hit; her brand has been severely damaged as a result of being involved in AEW television."

AEW must find a way to get more out of its star additions. If they keep under-utilizing some of their stars, they will ultimately begin to find it more difficult to attract new talent. Nobody wants to join a company that doesn't know how to get people over with the fan base. 

Khan has some thinking to do. Under no circumstances should Okada be the current version of himself. AEW has the deepest roster in professional wrestling; it's about time they start using it to their advantage.