Pro wrestling veteran Matt Hardy recently discussed various topics on his podcast, “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy.” One of the subjects included Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada and Okada’s alliance with Don Callis.
Hardy said, “I mean, I think it’s important. I think it adds a lot of context to how paramount this match is. I think it helps sells the match. These guys are two legendary performers who really kind of made their names off one another in the series of matches they’ve had, which was so huge back when they first happened. I liked the fact that there was the bludgeoning of Kenny Omega. He was bleeding. He did in it a real shitty way, he was tied to a stretcher and he elbows him. He’s outside, he elbows him. They get good heat on him. He’s bleeding real bad. It looked very violent. So so I dug that, and I like the fact that they’re trying to really make a clearcut heel in Okada. They’re trying to put sympathy on Kenny Omega and I think that’s important for their match coming up, even though both people are still just going to cheer for him and go nuts because that is the AEW audience, many, many ways. But I thought it was all done really well. I thought it’s been good, and it makes me look forward to the match. I’m excited. I’m excited for that match. That’d be a match I’d be interested in seeing.”
On if he’s watched their series of matches:
“I want to say I saw the first match. I remember there was so much buzz about it, and I think I saw it uploaded somewhere on social media when it first came out.”
On the criticism of Kazuchika Okada’s AEW run:
“I also feel like, because AEW is kind of like ‘Go out there and get yours and do whatever during the match. Like, let every match steal the show, whatever.’ I feel like sometimes Okada probably — if he was put in a position on one show where it’s like, ‘Specifically, we want this match to steal the show.’ And they gave him that time, and then everybody else kind of was told to dial it down a notch or whatever. I feel like that might make him stand out more. But I think it’s going to be harder for him in AEW, because they really don’t dial anyone down everybody. Everybody’s going full bore all the time, and that’s why I think things don’t stand out as much as they should… Also at AEW, I mean Will Ospreay is allowed to go out and do his stick every week, you know? And he’s just a generational athlete. He can do everything. So it’s like, when he’s doing so much and he’s upping the bar — upping the ante — so much, it makes it harder for those more simple things to establish as much and get as big of a reaction.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
