Kenny Omega recently spoke with Justin Barrasso for Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard ahead of tonight’s big Wrestle Kingdom 11 event in Japan. You can read a few excerpts below:
Kenny Omega says he’s not content with where wrestling is right now:
I am happy that, when I watch something on TV that isn’t me, I hate it. That makes me try all the more hard to show people what wrestling can be. That’s not to say everything is bad, but a lot of wrestlers in a position on television—or guys thrust into a main spot—shouldn’t be. I take a lot of pride in what I do. There is a place for everyone, but if you are in a main position with a main company, you have to make those sacrifices to show people you are the man.
Omega says he’d put his body of work up against anyone in WWE:
“I would rather be the legend that never stepped foot in WWE but was better than every single one of them and did something that none of those guys could do in their prime or could ever do if they left WWE and tried. No one is going to win ten ‘matches of the year’ in Japan, no one could. I’ve already won ten. No one could go from WWE and win one – if you did, you’d have to have a better match than me, and that isn’t going to happen. That’s the kind of pride I bring to my work. AJ is the closest guy who could do it, but I’m talking about their roster as a whole. It’s just not going to happen. That’s not just me saying that because I’m a cocky prick. That’s me saying it as a challenge because I’m pushing the barrier every single day. I’ll take all my matches against WWE’s best matches, I’ll put it up against Ring of Honor’s best matches, or whatever promotion you want, and I guarantee people will be more entertained with my matches than theirs. That is the attitude I need to carry with me. If I lose my confidence, then I’ll lose my way. And yes, I’m saying controversial things, but I’m not purposely saying them just to be controversial. I’m just one of the only guys to be speaking my true feelings.”
Related: Kenny Omega Fears Wrestling Is Headed Toward A Monopoly, Talks Leading Bullet Club in 2016
Omega talks about not putting a limit on what he could do in wrestling:
“My career changed instantaneously with the announcement of Shinsuke, AJ, Gallows, and Machine Gun leaving in the blink of an eye. I went from being a junior—and probably set to be Kushida’s arch-nemesis until the cows came home—to suddenly being vaulted into the heavyweight title picture for the Intercontinental championship.
“That taught me a lesson: I couldn’t put a limit on myself. The things I wanted were finally coming true. I was finally going to get a shot against these heavyweights, the guys that had all the hype. I had to listen while people said all these different guys were the best, but I knew, if I was ever given the chance, I would be able to show everyone something new. Then I was finally in the position to do it, so I wasn’t going to just be complacent. Some guys do that—they look at this as a job, but I knew I could show something really cool that people hadn’t seen before.”
