Kenny Omega recently spoke with Tokyo Sports following his loss in the incredible main event of Wrestle Kingdom 11, to IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada. Transcription as always comes from writer Chris Charlton, whose book Lion’s Tale is an excellent source of history and perspective on New Japan Pro Wrestling, and is available through Amazon.
“As hard as I trained, as hard as I prepared, I lost. Something’s missing and until I figure out what, I can’t wrestle. I’m just not motivated now. I don’t have the confidence to guarantee victory so I don’t have a problem with Suzuki Gun challenging next. I won’t do Fantastica Mania, and it’s possible I may miss New Beginning as well while I form a concrete plan of what to do next. I devoted all of 2016 to taking the belt at the Dome. That not coming true means I have to rethink everything.”
Omega sent out a tweet on January 6th that has had the internet in a buzz about his future, stating that he would be “stepping away from Japan” to reassess his future. This has led many to speculate on the possibility of him heading to WWE in the footsteps of fellow Bullet Club leaders Prince Devitt (now Finn Balor) and AJ Styles. There has been some interest in the past on the part of WWE, the world’s largest wrestling promotion, but off the heels of what many are calling the greatest wrestling match of all time, and a match that has generated enormous amounts of buzz on a global scale, it is almost certain that a major offer will be made if his contractual status allows.
There are those that believe Omega, a former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, is simply taking time off following his Tokyo Dome main event, in order to rest up and build hype for a future rematch with Okada. Just days before their match he criticized WWE in an interview, believing that they were creating a monopoly that was taking options away from wrestling fans. “WWE is hiring people just to hire them … as everyone gets picked up, as all these independent promotions have to shut down and close their doors because of WWE scooping everyone up, everyone’s going to lose an option.”
This new interview with Tokyo Sports seems to lend credence to the idea that Kenny will be back in New Japan, and that he may be back with something a little different. On January 5th, the night after Wrestle Kingdom, wrestling legend Minoru Suzuki made a surprise return along with one of the most dominant factions in puroresu history, Suzuki-Gun. Okada will defend his title against Suzuki before any theoretical rematch with Omega is possible, but it goes without saying that fans – who have already flocked to “The Cleaner” despite his group’s attitude as foreign villains – would show up in droves to cheer on Bullet Club in a first-time war with Suzuki’s invading army.
