Kazuchika Okada and Shawn Michaels recently expressed respect for one another while discussing which matches first got them interested in pro-wrestling. SI.com ran an article where Okada mentioned that the Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho match from WrestleMania 19 taught him a lot about wrestling.

“There was one other match I used to watch a lot. It was on a DVD at my mentor Ultimo Dragon’s house, and that was Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 19. I learned so much from that match,” Okada said through a translator.

The comments were then brought to Shawn Michaels, who was also interviewed for the article. HBK then gave his opinion on how he feels Okada would do if he was in WWE.

“I’m so incredibly appreciative of that,” Michaels said “I’ve always admired the style in Japan, and here’s a guy that admires my style.

“Someone once asked me how Okada would adjust if he were ever in the WWE, and I know the answer to that—he’d adjust fantastically, because he’s a fantastic talent. It’s like me. People would say, ‘Well, you only wrestled in the WWE,’ but I could have wrestled anywhere. When a guy is talented, he’s talented. So I’m thankful that Okada, this unbelievably talented young man, gained one or two things from my match.”

Okada is scheduled to face EVIL tomorrow on night 1 of Castle Attack in Osaka, Japan.