Is he though? I know he's claimed it, but I've never heard Tony Khan confirm it.

Also, is the AEW-NJPW interactions really so influential right now that that makes Rocky one of the most influential wrestlers of all time (even if it's true!)?

Okada was always coming due to his relationship with the Bucks (same reason he worked All In). Outside of that, to AEW, we've seen some dads (and yes, Suzuki is mostly a dad at this point) and a one-off by KENTA.

The interactions with Impact have been more significant both ways, and I'm not sure of Rocky's part in that.

None of this is to say I don't like Rocky or that he isn't important, I'm a huge fan (obligatory: rockyromeromerch.com reference goes here). I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around "one of the most influential wrestlers of all time" as applied to him.