Austin Aries Has Added Another Title To His Collection
Austin Aries added a sixth title to his collection last night when he defeated Swerve (Shane Strickland) to capture the Defy Championship at “Vibes.” Here’s what he had to say on social media:
“Last night continued to prove why I love being a #prowrestler doing #prowrestling right now. @defynw has something cool going on in the NW right now. Well run, good locker room, and a legion of rowdy, loyal fans. Some weren’t happy how I swerved “Swerve” @stricklandshane, but sometimes that’s what it takes to beat a top talent and stay #TheBeltCollector. Thank you @defynw and it’s fans for a really fun night. See you soon. Time to celebrate.”
– Back in December Roman Reigns claimed in a WWE Network special interview with Corey Graves that he was the best in-ring performer in the world today. A month later, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kenny Omega responded:
“It is what it is, and I understand that it’s a fun thing for fans to generate interest in the product,” Omega said. “I take absolutely zero offense in him saying it. Especially, since it’s quite clear that the fact of the matter is much, much different.”
It seems The Cleaner has taken the time to respond to WWE’s Big Dog yet again. Reigns recently Tweeted out the following statement:
If Reigns and Omega want any shot at having a match, it’d have to be in NJPW as The Cleaner has been very vocal about not wanting to leave his current promotion.
Discussion: Do you think this could lead to anything between Omega and Reigns in the future? What are the odds The Cleaner makes his way to WWE when his current deal in Japan is up? Do you even want to see Omega in WWE?
– WWE posted the following video of Daniel Bryan watching his first televised match with the company against Chris Jericho. The match happened on NXT, when the show was still a competition series, and Bryan wound up losing to Y2J via submission. Check it out here:
– Daniel Bryan is back where he belongs – inside a WWE ring. After years of battling concussions, seizures, and a blockade from WWE’s medical staff – Bryan finally returned to in-ring competition at last night’s WrestleMania in New Orleans.
Bryan was cleared to return to the ring several weeks ago after passing tests from numerous doctors referred to him by WWE’s Medical Director Joseph Maroon. He then entered into a feud with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, who attacked Bryan on SmackDown Live after firing the pair.
The former WWE World Heavyweight champion fired Owens and Zayn for their assault on SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon the previous week. Bryan then announced he would team with Shane O’Mac against Owens and Zayn at WrestleMania in a Tag Team match. Had Owens and Zayn won, they would’ve been reinstated on SmackDown.
Bryan and McMahon were attacked from behind early on in the bout, with Bryan being put on a stretcher after getting hit with a powerbomb on the ring apron. He later made his triumphant return into the match to bring his team back, and hooked the YES! Lock on Sami Zayn, who was forced to tap out.
WWE released the following video of Bryan reflecting on his WrestleMania return, and also his daughter getting to see him wrestle. Check it out here:
– New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kenny Omega was asked on Twitter what he was doing during the biggest professional wrestling show in the world. It turns out The Cleaner was too busy playing video games instead of watching the New Orleans show:
– Speaking of WrestleMania, The Miz dropped his Intercontinental Title to Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat match that featured Finn Balor in the opening bout of the main card. Just prior to this, however, The Miz got to meet the stars of “Impractical Jokers” Sal Vulcano and Brian Quinn.
Vulcano and Quinn said that Miz would cheat in his match, which upset Miz (who just so happened to be walking by) a bit. Check it out here:
Cody Rhodes has made his final comments before arguably Ring of Honor’s biggest event of the year. Supercard of Honor takes place tonight from the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans and is a co-branded event with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Cody, who has declared himself the ‘Leader’ of the Bullet Club faction will be taking on Kenny Omega, the man who many have felt has been positioned at the top of the NJPW stable since AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson left the company for WWE.
Cody stated on Twitter that his bout tonight will be “the match of the weekend.” With the hype surrounding this NJPW/ROH crossover feud and the in fighting/politics of the Bullet Club stable over the past few months it is difficult to argue that many matches outside of the WWE bubble have as much intrigue as this. This will also be the very first time that the two stars have faced one on one anywhere in the world.
You can order Supercard of Honor via the FITE TV App for $24.99. Full details can be found on FITE’s official website.
Kenny Omega recently made an appearance on the Busted Open radio show on SiriusXM. Bully Ray was serving as guest co-host and asked Omega how he managed to become so popular without the WWE media machine behind him.
“I think the digital age helped a lot,” Omega explained.
Kenny Omega: I’m Using My Life to Tell Stories in the Ring
Omega discussed the impact streaming services have had on wrestling. Omega believes advances in this technology has helped more fans discover different types of wrestling.
“Now with everything one-click away, they are able to see whatever they want. I think, I really don’t know, I, perhaps through word-of-mouth or whatever, somehow my matches became a topic of conversation outside of what happens in WWE. ”
Kenny Omega will team with Kota Ibushi to take on the Young Bucks this weekend. Strong Style Evolved takes place March 25th, 2018 from the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA.
At the show, Cody was able to defeat Matt Taven and retrieve his Ring of Honor. Lately, Cody has introduced a bear named Bury to Bullet Club. Unfortunately for him, Omega was dressed as the bear on this night.
Cody went to hug Bury, but was shoved down to the canvas. That’s when he realized something was off. Omega unmasked and blasted Cody with the V-Trigger. While the former IWGP United States Heavyweight champion was posing, Brandi turned him around and kissed him.
Cody has been playing mind games with Kota Ibushi and Omega since they reformed as the Golden Lovers. Cody planted a kiss on Ibushi on night two of Honor Rising. Omega and Cody will do battle at Supercard of Honor XII on April 7. That event will take place inside the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans.
Omega and Cody have been involved in a feud since January. While the seeds were planted all the way back in June at Dominion, Cody made the turn on night two of The New Beginning in Sapporo. He hit Omega with a Crossroads and went to hit him with a chair. Ibushi ended up making the save.
Mick Foley is offering a heap of praise on Bullet Club members.
On episode 95 of “Being The Elite,” Foley appeared. Marty Scurll tried recruiting the hardcore icon to help make the Villain Club more than just a t-shirt. Instead, Foley suggested that Mr. Socko becomes a member and things fell apart.
Trail Blazers
Just before the video was released, Foley posted a new entry of his Facebook blog praising Scurll, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega. You can read part of it below:
“Sure, on a certain level, I understood The Young Bucks were getting over strong. I understood, to some extent how well the whole Bullet Club thing was working. Not only were the Bucks blazing their own trail in tag-team wrestling; passing on a rumored WWE offer, because they were perfectly content with their New Japan and Ring Of Honor deals, but Kenny Omega had earned the right to call himself a human (match of the year) factory, with near superhuman performances on New Japan’s biggest shows in consecutive years. And to my surprise, the Marty Scurll Villain Club T’s were beating my WANTED T’s like a government mule at OTT shows in Dublin and Belfast. It’s not that the venerable Cactus shirts weren’t selling; they were – just at a pace about 1/4 the pace of Marty’s.”
NJPW may not have to worry about Kenny Omega making the jump to WWE anytime soon.
Omega, the former IWGP United States Heavyweight champion, recently reunited with Kota Ibushi to reform the Golden Lovers. The team will meet The Young Bucks on March 25th for Strong Style Evolved. Omega’s current storyline definitely sounds like one of those “bucket list” things he mentioned back in early 2017 when he re-signed with NJPW following Wrestle Kingdom 11.
Freedom Over Spectacle
Because he’s regarded as the hottest talent outside of WWE, naturally fans question when he’ll make the trip to Stamford. If you’re one of those fans, then hold your horses. During a recent Twitch stream, Omega broke down why he doesn’t want to be in the WWE at this time (via Cageside Seats):
“Going back to the last question everyone is asking, if I will go to WWE? Right now the answer is no. I’m just having too much fun doing what I am doing. It really means a lot to me in my profession, to feel like I’m making a difference. I don’t want to be a robot. I don’t want to be controlled. Ummm even though there is a lot of great talent, some of my good friends are still in WWE. I wish them all the best but to be able to tell the stories, the kind of stories I want to tell with who I believe are the greatest talents in the world, um that’s most important to me right now.”
On April 7, Cody will finally meet Kenny Omega. The match is expected to headline Supercard of Honor XII. Last month at NJPW’s The New Beginning in Sapporo, Cody gave Omega a Crossroads and was going to hit him with a chair before Kota Ibushi made the save.
Since then, the Golden Lovers have reunited and Bullet Club is in shambles. Cody believes a victory over Omega would make the world view him as the true leader of Bullet Club. He fired a warning at “The Best Bout Machine” in a new ROH video:
“What a year for the Bullet Club, the most profitable in the faction’s history. Let’s think about it. Think about those records that Marty Scurll and The Young Bucks set. That watershed agreement that everybody seems to be benefiting off of doesn’t happen unless I sign on the dotted line … There was Marty over there, Hangman over there, The Bucks, the streamers but no Kenny. Leadership, it’s not a title. You have to live it! Go ahead and bring Kota Ibushi with you because I want to see the look when he sees you in pain and the rest of the world sees me as the leader of the Bullet Club.”
Jay Lethal Wants ROH Gold Again
Jay Lethal has sent out quite the statement to ROH World champion Dalton Castle. Next Friday night (March 9), Lethal will challenge Castle in the main event of ROH 16th Anniversary. In a new promo, Lethal says Castle’s reign is coming to an end:
“Dalton Castle I have waited, not patiently, but I have waited nonetheless for this exact moment. I stand the number one contender right now for the Ring of Honor World championship. Just saying it makes my hair stand up … One more time I will become the Ring of Honor World champion.”
Night two of NJPW Honor Rising ended with the Golden Lovers and The Young Bucks face-to-face.
Earlier today (Feb. 24), Kenny Omega and Kota ibushi took on Cody and Marty Scurll. This was the first time the Golden Lovers teamed up in two-on-two action in years. The former IWGP Junior Tag Team champions have enjoyed success as heavyweights. Omega and Ibushi scored the win when they hit Golden Trigger on Scurll.
Who Is The Best?
After the match, Omega grabbed a mic and said Golden Lovers are the best tag team in the world. The Young Bucks didn’t appreciate that and hit the ring to respond. Matt Jackson said he and his brother Nick are the best team in the world. He then announced that The Young Bucks are moving up to the heavyweight tag team division before saying he’ll see Omega and Ibushi around.
Backstage, Omega told the media that he and Ibushi have no problem facing The Young Bucks if that’s what they have to do to prove they’re the best tag team in the world. The seeds were planted for a move to heavyweight for The Young Bucks on a recent episode of “Being The Elite.” Cody told both men that they appear to be bulking up and need to think about the heavyweight division.
Kenny Omega is the latest name announced for Chris Jericho’s Rock and Wrestling Rager At Sea. The ‘master of ceremonies’ Jericho released a video on Twitter confirming that the inaugural IWGP United States Champion would be taking to the seas from October 27th-31st.
Jericho opens the video stating “Kenny Omega, you claim to be the best in the world, well you know what I think? I agree, I know that you are.” Y2J then followed up this comment by referring to their January 4th match at Wrestle Kingdom; “You beat me at the Tokyo Dome in what many are saying is Chris Jericho’s best match, a five star classic…my best match, but not even your best match and that’s why I agree you’re the best in the world and that’s why I wanted you on Chris Jericho’s Rock and Wrestling Rager at Sea.”
There were rumors of a rematch between the “Alpha” and “Omega” of wrestling dating back to the initial announcement of the January 4th show. @ith the confirmation of ‘The Cleaner’ heading out as part of the cruise there is a very good chance that we see #AlphaOmegaPart2 with a third instalment potentially coming at the G1 Climax or at a Ring of Honor event later this year.
Further information on the Cruise can be found at chrisjerichocruise.com where cabins are still available to purchase for this once in a lifetime experience.
One match that wrestling fans have been waiting to see has a date set.
It was revealed on Friday that a singles match between Cody Rhodes and Kenny Omega would take place at Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor XII show.
This match announcement stems from an angle that was done last Sunday at NJPW’s New Beginning in Sapporo show where Cody turned on Omega following Omega’s loss of the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship to Jay White. This led to Rhodes attacking Omega.
The match was made official at the end of the new episode of Being the Elite, which you can see below.
Ring of Honor will hold their Supercard of Honor XIII event on Saturday, April 7th, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Lakefront Arena. The event will air on traditional PPV outlets and the FITE TV app.
NJPW star Kenny Omega spoke with Sports Illustrated for this week’s Week In Wrestling feature and had strong praise for WWE Superstar The New Day.
In speaking with Justin Barrasso, Omega said he keeps up with WWE television and sees The New Day as having the “total package” of athleticism, in-ring ability and charisma.
“They’re three of my favorite guys in the entire company,” said Omega. “They clearly know how to entertain, and they’re all great athletes.”
NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom event earlier this month featured WWE legend (and free agent) Chris Jericho crossing over to battle Omega in match most fans never expected to see. Omega has been outspoken about wanting to find a way to work with WWE to make a match happen between The Elite and The New Day.
Despite New Day’s success, their act has not evolved a lot in recent years. When asked if WWE has them boxed into a certain role, Omega was quick to prop them all up.
“When I see Big E, I clearly see someone who could be world champion,” said Omega. “The guy is on another level. Kofi is one of those guys who is good in all situations and can challenge for all titles, and Xavier is another great athlete who is talented in the ring and confident on the mic.”
Having such a high opinion of the New Day, Omega says he’s seen their stagnation as an indication of what might be in store for him if he ever joined WWE.
“It’s things like that that really make me think twice about what I would be getting into if eventually I do go there,” said Omega.
Visit SI.com to read the full Week in Wrestling feature by Justin Barrasso.
On the final night of the 2-day New Beginning in Sapporo event, Cody attacked Kenny Omega to kickstart a rivalry which has been building for months.
Cody gave Omega the Cross Rhodes and was instructing Marty Scurll and Hangman Page to join in the assault when Kota Ibushi made the save. Omega had previously saved Ibushi from a 3-on-1 attack from Cody, Scurll, and Page at New Year’s Dash.
Omega recently released a statement to Tokyo Sports which has since been transcribed by Chris Charlton.
“When he came to help me I had a flashback to our time as Golden Lovers. Ibushi’s always been hard to figure out, but I kind of understood something. The real Kenny is always at Kota’s side.
I said I wanted to face him (in the G1 Final) but the truth is what I wanted was to stand in the ring with him.
(I didn’t go to WWE) because I was waiting for him. If we aren’t together, there’s no point. I want us to change the world together. I took belts with Bullet Club, did a lot, but that was all the job. Golden Lovers transcends wrestling. This is real life. As long as there was a chance for this to happen, I wasn’t going to say goodbye to NJPW.
I don’t know if he wants what I want, but if he does we can do something amazing together.”
Earlier today at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) New Beginning Jay White defeated Kenny Omega to become the new IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion. Following the match Adam Page challenged White by taking the title from him, before Omega took it back and handed it to White again. Cody Rhodes then hit the ring, along with more Bullet Club members, and began to argue with “The Cleaner.”
Cody said Omega wasn’t being a leader before hitting Omega with the Cross Rhodes. Page held Omega while Cody got a chair to hit him with. Koto Ibushi then came out for the save and chased everyone off. Ibushi and Omega hugged before heading to the back. Check it out here:
In case you weren’t aware, New Japan Pro Wrestling is going down under next month for the first time ever. The New Japan Fallout Down Under tour invades the following cities next month:
Friday 16th February – ADELAIDE, Titanium Arena
Saturday 17th February – MELBOURNE, Festival Hall
Sunday 18th February – SYDNEY, Quay Centre
Monday 19th February – PERTH, HBF Stadium
The Wrestling Observer have confirmed that tickets for the tour have been selling extremely well, several stops are already close to sell outs and NJPW are said to be “pleasantly surprised” with the response to New Japan hitting Australia in February.
The company recently announced that Kenny Omega would be part of the 4 shows and this has had a massively positive effect on sales, this all of course bodes extremely well for NJPW as they look to extend their international profile.
– New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) has announced that they are set to tour Australia for the first-time ever in February. The promotion will hold four separate shows in locations such as Adelaide), Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth. The shows will go down on the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th. NJPW has announced that stars such as IWGP United States Champion, Kenny Omega, “Switchblade” Jay White, and Henare will be joining the tour.
– NJPW’s New Beginning show on February 10th has reportedly already sold out. The card will see IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay defend against Hiromu Takahashi, NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto vs. EVIL, and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Okada vs. SANADA.
– NJPW posted a video breaking down their biggest upcoming events of 2018. Check it out here:
– Wrestling Observer Newsletter gave Wrestle Kingdom 12’s IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship No Disqualification match between Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho five stars. The night’s main event between Okada and Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight Title received four stars.
– RAW stars Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose revealed on Snapchat that they’re suffering from the flu. Deville posted a video of herself in bed recovering while watching a marathon of Friends. No news yet on whether or not they’ll be working Monday’s episode of RAW.
‘The Cleaner’ Kenny Omega has reportedly extended his contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling. The Wrestling Observer have revealed that his one year extension will keep him with the company until at least January 31st 2019, this of course rules him out of any potential Royal Rumble appearance this year or next as well as a potential spot at Wrestlemania in New Orleans.
There had been some rumblings of Chris Jericho’s involvement in New Japan being a plot by WWE to ‘swoop in’ and raid the company, while these were fairly out there rumors they had begun to gain some traction…hopefully this confirmation of Kenny’s contract extension will quell any doubt that he is in Japan for the foreseeable future.
Last month on the WWE Network following an episode of Monday Night RAW the company debuted a new show entitled “Straight To The Source” with Corey Graves. Graves’ first guest was none other than current WWE Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns. Reigns was asked about numerous topics surrounding his WWE career, but one statement “The Big Dog” made stood above everything else. Reigns claimed to be the “best performer in-ring in the world,” which of course sparked criticism from fans everywhere:
“You know I’m the best performer in-ring in the world right now. You can go to my matches and my pay-per-views over the last three years and you can say I’m an idiot or you can be like ‘man, he’s got a point’, you know what I mean?”
As for who most consider to be the best in-ring performer in the world today – New Japan Pro Wrestling star and current IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega is one of the names at the top of that list. In a recent interview with Bleacher Report, “The Cleaner” responded to Reigns’ claims last month and called them ‘ridiculous’:
“I don’t know if Roman was put up to saying a comment like that from a social media team or if it was something that he consciously thought of himself. But I thought it was pretty smart of him to do—to say—that, because it became instantaneously a topic that people were talking about. And just because it sounds so ridiculous. You know what I mean?
“By no means do I actually think he believes in those words. There’s no possible way. I don’t have to feel like I have to speak up about it. It is what it is, and I understand that it’s a fun thing for fans to generate interest in the product. I take absolutely zero offense in him saying it. Especially since it’s quite clear that the fact of the matter is much, much different.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74QIDIO5Pxw
You can read Omega’s interview with Bleacher Report by clicking here.
– As we’ve noted before, IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega defeated Chris Jericho in one of the featured bouts of Wrestle Kingdom 12. The match received a ton of positive reviews after being hyped up for several months. Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega Tweeted out the following about their match:
– Per report from F4WOnline, Wrestle Kingdom 12 generated 43,000 total fans (34,995 paying fans) in attendance at the Tokyo Dome. It was the largest audience for a professional wrestling event in Japan in 15 years. The event was considered to be a near-sellout because of the stage and ring setup NJPW used.
– NJPW is set to return stateside on March 25th from Long Beach, California at the Walter Pyramid for USA: Strong Style Evolved. It was announced tickets will go on sale on January 29 at 1pm ET / 10am PT. Prices range from $50-$200. Ticket sell site has yet to be announced.
– Current ROH Television Champion Silas Young recently took to Twitter to announce that his contract with the promotion has expired and he’s currently a free agent. He said he is currently in Florida and teased potentially signing with WWE soon:
– Following Wrestle Kingdom 12 at the New Year’s Dash event a 10-man match took place between Cody, Chase Owens, Marty Scurll, Yujiro Takahashi, and Lao Tongo vs. Kushida, Kota Ibushi, Dave Finlay, Juice Robinson, and Ryusuke Taguchi. The Bullet Club ended up winning the match and Cody looked to ambush Ibushi with The Bullet Club afterwards to avenge his loss at WK.
IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega then rushed the ring and stopped Cody and The Bullet Club, before getting into an intense shoving match with each other:
– Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio took to Instagram to comment on this morning’s Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega Wrestle Kingdom 12 match, saying it “did not disappoint”:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdhwrrHDv_r/
– WWE posted a video of Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss being interviewed by Renee Young, who asks the pair how they feel about being paired together for the Mixed Match Challenge and how they think Nia Jax will respond – given Jax petitioned to have Strowman as her partner for the tournament. Check out the video here:
– Early tomorrow morning Chris Jericho will be returning to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) for his highly-anticipated match-up against Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12. Jericho took to Instagram to post some fan art that showed himself, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero. “Y2J” said that he is dedicating his match tomorrow to his “fallen brothers”:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdfXpUjlQnS/
– In the dark main event after SmackDown Live and 205 Live tapings; a Six-Man Tag Team match between the teams of AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, and Shinsuke Nakamura took on the team of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Jinder Mahal. “The Phenomenal One” and his team were able to emerge victorious to send the crowd home happy.
Chris Jericho recently did an interview with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) to talk about his upcoming match with Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12 next weekend. Here are the highlights:
The connection he feels to Kenny Omega and Japan:
“I’ve never wrestled Kenny Omega before. I understand how great Kenny Omega is – everybody’s talking about Kenny Omega and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to have this match. Because the timing for this match is perfect. It probably couldn’t have happened last year – it couldn’t have happened last year, it probably won’t happen next year, this is the time for “Alpha vs. Omega.”
“This is the time for Kenny vs. Jericho. And he’s from the same home city as I am; from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada – and to me, there’s a special connection there. He basically grew up in Japan, so did I, this is my 52nd tour of Japan in January. I think – we’re not just typical foreigners, we’re not just typical guys – we’re almost honorary Japanese.
His style compared to Omega’s:
“Well, once again, Kenny Omega has a great style – very good New Japan style, but I have New Japan style, I have WAR style, I have Mexico style, I have European style, I have ECW style, I have Smokey Mountain Wrestling style, I have WCW style, and more importantly, I have WWE style. Six-time World Heavyweight Champion. Kenny has never been even close to that. It’s a completely different world. Kenny Omega is a planet, Chris Jericho is the whole universe. I’m the Alpha. Alpha vs. Omega, it’s not just a catchphrase, it’s the truth.
“And it’s typical for someone like Kenny to think “Jericho can’t handle my style,” because he’s been so big here in New Japan. But he’s big with Okada, and Naito, and that’s great. Those four guys, five guys, six guys. I’ve been great against 50 guys! Against 100. Hall Of Famers. Some of the greatest of all time. Kenny Omega can’t even lace my boots up when it comes to that kind of respect, that kind of experience, that kind of knowledge that I have.”
Wanting to end Omega’s NJPW career:
“You don’t see blood on a New Japan ring, you don’t see blood in a WWE ring – the business has changed, it’s not about that anymore. Which I think is what made it so much more shocking when I hit Kenny over the head with the United States Championship and cut him open, bleeding everywhere- I liked it. It made me happy. It gave me energy. Made me feel alive. And it also change the entire concept of what this match is gonna be for me. At first, I thought, “Well, sure, if Kenny can have a seven star match I can have an eight star match, nine star match, the first-ever ten star match: “Alpha vs. Omega.”” Make Okada vs. Omega look like an opening match between a couple of young lions.
“But then, after Fukuoka, and then after the press conference in Tokyo the next day – it’s so violent, and intense, and vicious. This is gonna be a match like you’re not gonna see in New Japan again. It’s gonna be like a match – it’s gonna be a different type of match than any type of match at the Tokyo Dome. End of the match at Wrestle Kingdom 12. And once again, I like that, because to me it’s gonna stand out. You’re going to see the last match of Kenny Omega’s New Japan career happen at Wrestle Kingdom 12, because of me.
“Can you imagine all the New Japan Pro Wrestling fans? The women, crying. The little kids, crying. The longtime 20-year fans, crying when their hero, Kenny Omega’s career is over. Can you imagine how that’s going to make me feel? I’m gonna feel like the fu*king king of the world. Because I am. The best in the world. The greatest of all time. The Alpha. that’s who Chris Jericho is. And all the New Japan people, all the New Japan fans, and any wrestler in the New Japan locker room is going to learn a lesson. And it’s going to be a sad day for Kenny Omega and all of his fans at Wrestle Kingdom 12. I guarantee it.”
