One of AEW's top stars has gone on record to say that they were left feeling angry and frustrated following a botched ending of one of the company's most anticipated pay-per-view main events.
The feud between Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega in 2021 had grown to such an extent that it was determined that it would culminate in AEW's first-ever Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch.
While the match was well received at the time, it was the post-match actions that were memorable for all the wrong reasons because rather than Eddie Kingston saving Moxley from a life-threatening explosion, he saved him from what can only be described as a few sparklers and a puff of smoke.
Speaking to Renee Paquette on her podcast, "The Sessions," Kenny Omega detailed how he felt about the explosion. Much like everyone watching and everyone involved in the angle, he was extremely angry:
"I remember being on my way to the back, and I saw Jerry (Lynn), he kind of sprinted up beside me and was like, 'Kenny, don't do it man. I know you're pissed off, but don't do it.' I'm like, 'Jerry, I don't know what I'm going to do, I feel like crying.' 'It's okay, nothing you did wrong. I'm p***ed off too. Hopefully you don't blame anyone involve in the match.' 'No, I don't.' That was the most upsetting part in that moment." (H/T Fightful)
Omega elaborately stated that he doesn't really blame anyone for what happened, although he did feel very bad for Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston as the angle made them look bad.
"I don't know who to blame, I don't know who is at fault, I just feel so terrible for Jon, Eddie, and myself. Boy do we look like sorry saps. I was nice to, as best as I could, scrub the finish and just think how did our work aside from that one technical flub. I liked it, I really did. It sucks that the last part is what's going to stick in everyone's mind." (H/T Fightful)
Kenny Omega did have one person he could point to for making the AEW Revolution 2021 main event go wrong
Given that it was the first time in AEW history that an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch was taking place, a lot of rehearsals and practice needed to take place.
However, Kenny Omega pointed out to Renee Paquette that the one big difference between the rehearsals and the day of the event was that the person responsible for designing the explosion decided to change things at the last minute.
"When I heard the real reason, where it was the boss who was not there from full rehearsals, had then showed up to the actual real life show and said, 'I have a way to make this look even better,' and that was his idea. Wait, you decided on the spot when you didn't know the idea, you didn't see the rehearsal, and that's the direction he decided to go in." (H/T Fightful)
Since Revolution 2021, there has not been another match of its kind in AEW, though given how the first match ended, there might be a sense that the company will want to correct this embarrassing moment at some point in the future.
Would you like to see another Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch in AEW? Let us know in the comments section below!