#4 Does Omega even need the WWE anymore?
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For the first time since the turn of the century, we are definitely living in an era in which professional wrestlers can become stars without the help of the WWE. Ever since the defeat of WCW in the Monday Night Wars, the typical formula for an independent wrestler was to make a bit of a name for yourself and then wait patiently for somebody at Titan Towers to spot you. With the rise in popularity of wrestlers like The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, that formula has been thrown out of the window.
In terms of money and international recognition, the WWE is still probably the place to be. If you’re making all the right moves in TNA or ROH and want to expand your brand, it would be incredibly difficult to turn down an offer from the McMahons.
But there is now an upper echelon of stars that could just as easily build a legendary career in the Far East instead. Even when you look at the competitors that have recently come over to WWE from Japan, like Finn Balor, AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, it seems as though they’d already ‘made it’ before arriving, and the WWE was just another playground for them to showcase their talents.
And as we all know, coming to WWE isn’t always the dream it is made out to be. While a wrestler might be able to excel on the indie scene, dealing with the WWE Universe, with its strange mix of fans and their bias towards big muscle-bound monsters, is another matter altogether. This is why a lot of fans fear seeing The Young Bucks sign with WWE, for example.
What if the management there don’t really get the point of the team, or maybe large sections of the WWE audience won’t respond well to such a flamboyant duo shouting catchphrases throughout their matches. When it comes to being an immensely popular independent or Japanese based wrestler, sometimes it’s better to keep things as they are.
When it comes to Kenny Omega, in particular, all of this does apply, but there is even more going on. Omega’s relationship with NJPW is now probably the most exciting thing in Wrestling. I don’t think there is anyone in either WWE, ROH or TNA that fans want to see win a championship more than Kenny Omega. When he finally does get his hands on the belt, it will be one of those timeless moments to rival some of the biggest and most iconic title wins in history.
If Omega was to move to WWE, you just couldn’t tell that kind of a story with him. It is right in saying that fans would certainly want to see him win the WWE or Univeral Championship one day, but would it hold the same level of emotional significance compared to where he’s at currently?
Also, this is a time in which NJPW is harbouring some very real and potentially game-changing ambitions. If the company does increase its foothold in the States, who knows what might happen to the international wrestling scene. Would WWE’s long-held hegemony finally be broken? Would other companies be tempted to try their hands at expansion too?
If NJPW is serious about doing this, they will need Kenny Omega at the forefront. He is an English speaker who already appeals to large sections of the US audience. Seeing him compete against guys like Naito, Tanahashi and Kushida will elevate their profiles even more and bring new US subscriptions to New Japan World.
There’s an old saying that goes, ‘it’s better to be half way up a ladder you want to climb than be at the top of one you don’t’. And considering where NJPW is going at the moment, it might be that much more tempting to stick than to twist right now.
