From the WWE / NJPW rumor mill:  Reason behind the Chris Jericho v. Kenny Omega Wrestle Kingdom 12 match

What's the story?

On a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer spoke about the shocking announcement for Wrestle Kingdom 12 where Chris Jericho will take on Kenny Omega. One of the items Meltzer brought up was the reason this match is taking place.

In case you didn't know...

Jericho first competed in New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1997 while with WCW. At this time, there was a working agreement between the two companies. Jericho was a masked character called Super Liger who would feud with wrestling legend Jushin Thunder Liger.

The heart of the matter

Meltzer confirmed that Jericho and Omega have discussed having this match since August. In addition, Meltzer stated that Jericho thought of the idea after seeing how successful the feud and fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather was.

Jericho wanted to have a match that no one expected that they would ever see. With Jericho being 46 years old and the uncertainty of Omega ever coming to the WWE, many wrestling fans thought this dream match would never happen.

Jericho approached Don Callis (color commentator for the English broadcast of New Japan Pro Wrestling) about wanting a match with Omega, and Callis then talked to Omega. This led to a meeting between Jericho and NJPW officials where they agreed to terms for the match at Wrestle Kingdom 12.

Meltzer added that the expectation is it will be a one-and-done appearance for Jericho, but the IWGP United States Championship will be on the line.

What's next?

Wrestle Kingdom 12 will air live on the New Japan World January 4th. In addition to Jericho and Omega, the main event for this show is the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada taking on Tetsuya Naito for the title. Ring Of Honor World Champion Cody Rhodes will defend his title against Kota Ibushi as well.

Author's take

Jericho was right, this was a match I never thought I'd see in my lifetime. In 2017 at the age of 46, Jericho proved that he still can put on spectacular matches, and there is no doubt the match against Omega will be a treat.

It just adds to the excitement for Wrestle Kingdom 12; which already has an amazing card. At the time of this writing there are six title matches on the card for this show, and any if not all of the six matches could steal the show.