Kenny Omega has undoubtedly had a legendary career. Sure, he might have critics, but when you buck the system so to speak and arguably revolutionize the overall style of the business, there will usually be critics. In some ways, while AJ Styles was more hard-hitting and possibly had tighter fundamentals, what he did for the first decade of the millennium, was similar to what Kenny Omega did in the 2010s in terms of pushing the envelope in terms of in-ring presentation. Again, Omega has his share of naysayers, and there are some valid point to be made from that, but you simply can’t take away the impact that he had on the industry, both before and after the launch of All Elite Wrestling in 2019.
One of the biggest pieces of his legacy as a performer was his role in the resurgence of New Japan Pro Wrestling throughout the previously mentioned decade of the 2010s. Keep in mind, the Japanese league, as historic as it was, was on the brink of collapse by the early-2000s after founder, Antonio Inoki’s failed MMA experiment that tried to capitalize on the popularity of Pride Fighting Championship before a yakuza scandal saw the MMA league implode in 2007. Inoki sold his shares to the THQ video game company in 2005 to keep the organization afloat. There was the Brock Lesnar controversy where he worked for New Japan in 2005 after he failed to make the Vikings NFL squad the previous year, but then refused to drop the IWGP championship after he won the belt upon his arrival. Inoki founded the Inoki Genome Federation with Lesnar as the proclaimed champion of that group, leaving NJPW looking foolish in the process before a bout against Kurt Angle was agreed on. He dropped the belt to Angle so that it could eventually find its way back to New Japan.
Before THQ went bankrupt, they sold the company to Bushiroad in 2012. The trading card company was able provide the cash infusion that the promotion needed to not only be promoted properly, but also bring in more foreign talent, as well as expand the distribution of the product. Furthermore, Bushiroad merchandised the brand much more efficiently to bring in more revenue.
As we know, the combination of the start of AEW and the COVID-19 pandemic that shuttered live events for an extended period of time had a major impact on New Japan, a domino effect that can still be seen today. However, Kenny Omega was a huge part of the success that New Japan had throughout six or seven very solid years. The Bullet Club, the series of legendary matches with Kazuchika Okada, and truly earning the moniker of “best bout machine” through a stellar run of tremendous matches with many different opponents made him one of the top drawing cards of Japan.
The guy that was known for comedy work, albeit athletic comedy work, in DDT had worked his way up the ranks to the main event of the Tokyo Dome.
He received rave reviews in The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, and he, along with The Young Bucks and Cody Rhodes, were the core group of guys that made themselves into legitimate money-drawing acts outside of the WWE bubble. The track record of the sell out crowds that they drew on a smaller scale for Ring Of Honor was essentially a proof of concept for Tony Khan to get his billionaire family to fund a national wrestling project. Make no mistake about it, the chance for fans to watch Kenny Omega on weekly American television was one of the original selling points for fans to check out the product.
Now, almost seven years into the existence of All Elite Wrestling, Omega is slated to challenge Maxwell Jacob Friedman for the world championship at next month’s Dynasty pay-per-view in Vancouver. But, does Kenny Omega really have another title run left in him, and if he does, should he even risk more injuries?
The Canadian grappler has been wrestling since his teenage years, and actually had a often forgotten run in WWE’s Deep South Wrestling developmental territory in 2006. That amount of time alone racks up a toll on the body, not to mention the high risk style that he was known for most of his 25-year career. At 42, most top stars in the business still have at least a few more years of their theoretically prime left, but that might not be the case for Omega.
Unfortunately, Kenny Omega is one of many cautionary tales that will emerge in hindsight of the modern era. You can only burn the candle at both ends and take the extra risks in the ring for so long until the impact of the style takes its toll. That’s not to say not to work hard or put in major effort, Ric Flair was one of the hardest working guys in the business through a few different eras, but he didn’t get dropped on his head or take bumps on the floor on a regular basis. Mick Foley cut tremendous promos and had the psychology to make the most of his major runs, but his career was cut short from too many dangerous bumps too often. The random episode of Raw in 1999 didn’t need him to crash to the concrete floor, but maybe the risk/reward ratio could’ve been justified for a pay-per-view.
Way too often in the modern era, way too many performers are taking way too many risks, specifically in AEW. Will Ospreay just returned from neck surgery at the Revolution pay-per-view and in the segment where he attacked the death riders, he did a completely unnecessary twisting moonsault to the floor when he almost clipped his head on the apron.
By 2021, Omega had to take a year off to undergo a few different surgeries to repair a slew of different injuries. At the end of 2023, he had a life-threatening case of diverticulitis and needed surgery to fix the issue. He was on the shelf for over a year before he returned in early-2025, but he has had a relatively small role in the promotion since that time, which is probably a wise decision. Obviously, diverticulitis isn’t directly linked to pro wrestling, and can happen to anyone, including to Brock Lesnar during his tenure in the UFC, but there’s no doubt that it has a major impact on the body. Given that Omega had to spend a year on the sidelines to recover from multiple injuries previously, should he really be booked for a main event spot where the odds are that he’s going to take risks to try to make the bout stand out on the pay-per-view card?
Granted, I think that Omega is booked for this bout merely to be a credible opponent for MJF, but there’s still an argument for him to win the title in Canada to have one last major run as the world champion. The problem is, even if that was the direction that Tony Khan wanted to go, as far as the wholesome victory for the Canadian champion, it’s doubtful that Omega could work a full-schedule as the titleholder. That’s not a knock against Omega, as I said, the guy is a tremendous performer that will be regarded as a legend after he retires, but the harsh reality is, Omega has been injured more often than not the past few years.
I say that not to discount his contributions, but rather to point out that it’s probably not worth the potentially risk to his health again. I’m not being sarcastic when I say this, but what does Omega realistically have to prove at this point in his career? A WWE run was rumored to be on the table before the launch of AEW, but it’s not in the cards at this point. As mentioned, he has a place in the history of Japanese wrestling and he was a part of the core group that launched AEW that shifted the dynamics of the industry in America so he should probably consider retirement as more of an option than another title run.
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Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
