Formal apology issued to Kenny Omega after sudden fight breaks out amid AEW hiatus; star warned and fined

Kenny Omega has been out of action since December last year. He recently made a huge appearance amid his long hiatus.

The Cleaner made a special guest appearance at the NJPW Power Struggle event in Osaka on November 4. He cut a promo and expressed his desire to return to the ring at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5, 2025, against a young star. Following his segment, the fans saw the NJPW Strong OpenweightChampion Gabe Kidd confront him backstage and attack the absent AEW star.

A few hours ago, NJPW shared a special announcement by the company's president and representative director, Hiroshi Tanahashi on X/Twitter. The announcement included a formal apology to The Best Bout Machine for Gabe's actions.

"Hiroshi Tanahashi has a special announcement. On November 4 in Osaka, after he delivered an address to the crowd, Kenny Omega was involved in a physical altercation with Gabe Kidd. We take this type of incident seriously, and after investigation have determined that Kidd’s actions in physically assaulting a non-active wrestler were unbecoming of a professional. Gabe has been issued with a formal warning and a fine as a result. I would like to formally apologize to Kenny Omega and AEW for the distress caused. #njpw," the post read.

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Kenny Omega takes a shot at CM Punk

Following the incident at Power Struggle, Kenny Omega had an interview with Tokyo Sports, where he seemingly took a dig at former AEW star CM Punk.

Speaking in the interview, he stated that the backstage confrontation with Gabe Kidd on Monday reminded him of a similar incident that happened to him in AEW.

"He suddenly pushed me and took a fighting stance. I immediately remembered the incident that happened in AEW. I won't say his name, but I thought that Gabe was unfit to be a professional, just like that guy. He said a lot of bad things about AEW, but that's irrelevant now. For now, I can't trust Gabe," he said.

At AEW All Out 2022, Omega and CM Punk reportedly had a backstage brawl that also involved The Young Bucks and Ace Steel.