What’s the story?
Sports Illustrated posted a lengthy interview with Kenny Omega, 24 hours before the biggest match of The Cleaner’s career. The interview covered Omega’s thoughts with regards to a move to WWE, and those hoping to see the first gaijin winner of the G1 Climax turning up in NXT sometime soon, are going to be extremely disappointed.
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Omega lost the Junior Heavyweight Championship to KUSHIDA at Wrestle Kingdom 10, but his career has gone from strength to strength in the 12 months since.
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Omega has been the number one beneficiary of the talent exodus immediately following WK10, ousting AJ Styles as leader of Bullet Club and going on to become the first gaijin winner of the G1 Climax in the process. Omega will now become the first gaijin to headline the Wrestle Kingdom event and the first to headline the annual January 4th Tokyo Dome show since Brock Lesnar in 2006.
The heart of the matter
The headline of the piece conveys Omega’s major thought, as the former IWGP Intercontinental Champion says ’I would rather be the legend that never stepped foot in the WWE’. Omega goes on to call out wrestlers for being happy with collecting a cheque and being able to call themselves ‘WWE Superstars’.
The Cleaner goes further, talking about what makes him special and making a convincing claim for the crown of the best wrestler in the world. Omega talks up his work ethic whilst questioning the same of others, stating ’Guys are prideful of their position, but if you are so prideful of your position, then outwork me’.
Omega concludes the interview by bringing everything full circle, vowing to vanquish Okada and finish Wrestle Kingdom 11 in possession of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
Despite his successes, Omega is frequently the subject of intense whispers regarding a possible move to WWE and NXT. The man himself has said on a number of occasions that this doesn’t interest him, but a man of his supreme talent surely must be high on WWE’s Most Wanted list.
The interview also conveys Omega’s confidence ahead of the Wrestle Kingdom 11 main event.
What next?
What next? Well, not much in truth. The rumours will continue to follow Omega regardless of how vehemently he states his desire to stay in Japan, and these rumours could conceivably put New Japan off when it comes to putting their top title on The Cleaner. Wrestle Kingdom 11 is going to be an interesting night for a number of reasons.
Sportskeeda’s take
Professional wrestling is a strange world and one in which the word ‘never’ has absolutely no meaning whatsoever. If WWE came to Kenny Omega with a once-in-a-lifetime offer that allowed him to bypass NXT, he may very well have his ears pricked.
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