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Kenny Omega successfully defended his AEW World Championship against Christian Cage in the main event of AEW All Out 2021. It was an excellent bout that once again established The Cleaner as the clear top star in the promotion. His stable, The Elite, got even stronger after the match with the debut and inclusion of Adam Cole.
With the group and his title reign only gaining steam, Kenny Omega feels significantly bigger than he has before. There are plenty of contenders in the running to get a shot at the AEW World Championship. Christian Cage now has to start over to work his way back up the rankings, but the question is who will step up next?
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Kenny Omega has now officially become the longest reigning AEW World Champion in company history. His reign doesn't seem like it will be ending anytime soon, so it should be very interesting to see who will be his next opponent. In this article, let's take a look at the five next challengers for Kenny Omega following AEW All Out 2021.
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#5 AEW's Orange Cassidy
Kenny Omega pulled off one of the most impressive victories of his AEW World Championship reign back at Double Or Nothing by defeating both PAC and Orange Cassidy in a three-way match. The conclusion saw Don Callis screw Orange out of the win and Omega get a crucifix pin after Cassidy hit his signature Orange Punch.
In the lead-up to the pay-per-view, PAC felt more like an add-on, while Orange Cassidy was more directly feuding with Kenny Omega. The interaction between the two men added a lot to the eventual superb three-way at Double Or Nothing 2021. However, there is plenty to go back to for Omega and Cassidy in a singles match for the AEW World Championship.
Orange Cassidy comes off the heels of two back-to-back singles wins over Matt Hardy and Jack Evans on AEW Dynamite. He was also on the winning side of the ten-man tag team Buy In Match ahead of All Out 2021. He has plenty of momentum to move up the rankings and step up to be the next challenger for the AEW World Championship.
#4 Le Champion of AEW - Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho picked up a huge win at AEW All Out 2021 by defeating his arch nemesis MJF to keep his career alive. This capped off a well-built feud that has been going on for well over a year. After a lengthy rivalry, it seems like a good time for both men to go their separate ways.
While MJF can continue to brag that he has beaten Jericho on three occasions and can even claim to have won the match at All Out, Le Champion needs to use the momentum that he has built up over the past two months. He defeated Shawn Spears, Nick Gage, Juventud Guerrera and Wardlow on his way to get another bout against MJF. With a win over Friedman, he can finally move on.
Chris Jericho is the first ever AEW World Champion and has never received a rematch for the title that he lost back at Revolution 2020 to Jon Moxley. He is also one of three men to own a pinfall victory over the current AEW World Champion Kenny Omega all the way back at Double Or Nothing 2019.
This is a feud that needs to be revisited due to the nature of its success, and its long-lasting implications. Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega had one of the most important encounters in wrestling history at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 in 2018.
AEW President Tony Khan credits the match for showing him that fans wanted another major promotion besides WWE. This is a ready-made AEW World Championship Match waiting to happen.
#3 Malakai Black - The dark horse to dethrone the AEW World Champion?
One of the biggest acquisitions that has recently come to AEW is Malakai Black, formerly known as Aleister Black in WWE. He has had an impactful presence in All Elite Wrestling since his debut on the July 7th Road Rager episode of AEW Dynamite.
His feud with Cody Rhodes has helped him make a statement with his dominating win over the American Nightmare on the August 4th Homecoming episode of AEW Dynamite. Malakai Black has followed this up with wins over Brock Anderson and Lee Johnson of the Nightmare Family. With his encounter with Dustin Rhodes coming up this week, that will potentially bring him to a 4-0 record.
An undefeated record in singles competition could propel him up the rankings for AEW in a hurry. Malakai Black brings a different type of opponent to Kenny Omega and the AEW World Championship. Black has played the heel role since coming into the promotion, but the fans have been cheering for him and his actions the entire way, which could lead to AEW shifting course.
Black and Omega make for quite the compelling matchup. They both have hard-hitting styles that lean heavy on strikes and high octane offense. Kenny Omega has dealt with distinct personalities like Jon Moxley, Orange Cassidy and PAC, but none quite like Malakai Black. Going up against The Elite could also allow Malakai to finally introduce the House of Black as well, so there's a lot of possibilities.
#2 AEW's latest acquisition - Bryan Danielson
AEW All Out 2021 will go down as the best pay-per-view in the history of the promotion and quite possibly one of the greatest of all time. A lot of that sentiment comes down to the landscape shifting close to the show.
Not only did Adam Cole shockingly arrive and reunite with The Elite, but Bryan Danielson made his AEW debut to stand against The Elite with Christian Cage and the Jurassic Express.
This opens the door for a dream match that fans have discussed for years. Bryan Danielson has been known as "The Best In The World" since before his time in WWE, while Kenny Omega has earned that moniker from fans due to his amazing workrate over his time in NJPW and now AEW.
The two men have faced each other before in 2007 and 2008, but both have grown a lot since then and would be a completely different encounter now. Kenny Omega is the longest reigning AEW World Champion of all time and has defeated the best that All Elite Wrestling has put in front of him. Danielson came to the promotion to challenge himself and no one can do that more than Omega.
Bryan Danielson will have to earn some wins in order to get a shot at the AEW World Championship, but he has put himself in a tremendous position to immediately interact with Kenny Omega.
These two men could create magic in the ring and put on a classic that will be talked about for the next decade. There is only one man now that AEW fans want to see Omega have a showdown with more.
#1 Hangman Page - The true face of AEW?
Hangman Page lost the first AEW World Championship Match to Chris Jericho all the way back at All Out 2019. This led him on a journey that has been the most captivating character arc in the entire company, and possibly the industry as a whole. Page had a crisis of confidence that made him want to leave his friends in The Elite and led to some drinking along the way as well.
Despite his insecurities, Kenny Omega aligned with Hangman Page in a tag team that found immediate success. The two men defeated SCU to win the AEW World Tag Team Championships. This eventually led to a high-profile showdown with The Young Bucks at Revolution 2020. It was a phenomenal encounter and arguably the greatest match in company history, where Page and Omega were victorious.
Hangman Page and Kenny Omega went on a terrific run as the AEW World Tag Team Champions until FTR defeated them to win the gold at All Out 2020. Following the loss, Kenny Omega abandoned his partner and left him hanging. They faced each other in the World Title Eliminator Finals at Full Gear 2020 with Omega beating Page to get a shot at the AEW World Championship.
Kenny Omega defeated Jon Moxley to win the AEW World Championship with the help of Don Callis. Omega turned to the dark side to reach his goal and eventually drove his friends, The Young Bucks, to turn heel as well. Hangman Page went on his own journey trying to recover from his failures and was still drinking. Along the way, he made friends of his own in the Dark Order.
That friendship with the Dark Order gave Hangman Page some confidence again. He picked up wins against Matt Hardy, Ricky Starks and Brian Cage before becoming the Number One Contender for the AEW World Championship. Despite some apprehension, Dark Order convinced Page to go for the title. This led to a 10 Man Tag Team Match against The Elite at Fight For The Fallen 2021.
In the big showdown, Kenny Omega once again defeated Hangman Page with the One Winged Angel and prevented him from getting a shot at the AEW World Championship.
The following week, the Elite jumped Page and took him out of action. Christian Cage stepped up to challenge Omega in the interim, but fans have made it no secret they want Hangman to be the man to dethrone Omega.
Hangman Page vs. Kenny Omega is the AEW World Championship Match the fanbase has wanted for a while now. This is a story that's been more than two years in the making.
Whenever Hangman makes his return, fans will be begging for this clash again. That's why Hangman Page is not only the next best challenger for Kenny Omega following AEW All Out 2021.
