It's been roughly seven months since Kenny Omega graced an AEW ring.
That's a long time.
He's missed the entirety of his former tag team partner, “Hangman” Adam Page's World Championship run, the TNT Championship seesaw of Sammy Guevara and Scorpio Sky, and the exit of “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes, who was once a member of his faction “The Elite” even if, rumor has it, the duo were never really friends.
Why, you may ask, did Omega leave? Well, because he's been wrestling injured for literally years now, and opted to address the more pressing issues with some post-championship surgeries. Do we know when he'll be back? Eh, not really; on his most recent appearance on The Wrestling Observer Podcast, Omega opined about the wear and tear on his body and suggested that a sports hernia surgery would sideline him for roughly two months, or until the end of May/the beginning of June.
… wait, it's the beginning of June now; does that mean what I think it means? Are fans in arenas the United States over about to ‘hear the battle cry?'
Well, not necessarily. Remember, wrestling, though often called “sports entertainment,” doesn't have to be forthright with injuries like, say, the NFL. A wrestler can be fully healthy but out with a kayfabe injury or participate in segments “Stone Cold” Steven Austin-style despite not being cleared to go due to injury. Kenny Omega isn't going to return on an episode of Dark with an easy match against Alan “5” Angels – well, maybe not him – for a three-minute rehab assignment. No, if “The Cleaner” is headed back to the ring, you would assume Tony Khan will make his return newsworthy and the sort of ‘can't miss moment' worthy of launching the promotion forward from a storyline standpoint.
Still, why not think about it? Why not comb through the not too distant future of AEW and see what sort of bouts await the man affectionately known the world over as “The Best Bout Machine?”
Best Kenny Omega AEW return bouts
3. Kenny Omega returns in the AEW Interem Championship Battle Royal
Whether you call it a Battle Royal or a Battle Royale – AEW has done both in their marketing of the match – the match lined up to decide Jon Moxley's challenger for the main event of Dynamite should serve as a showcase of the best talent the promotion has to offer.
While that proposition could be affected negatively by the string of injuries that have ravished AEW as of late, with Bryan Danielson, Anthony Bowens, Adam Cole, and potentially even Scorpio Sky all presumably still on the shelf for the June 8th show, the match should still feature more than a few of the promotion's upper card contenders. “Hangman” Adam Page? Sorry, David Finlay, “Hanger” wants his belt back. Ethan Page? Sure, the former member of “The North” has spent too long as Scorpio Sky's sideman that some folks have forgotten just how good he can be in the ring. Paige VanZant? …okay, maybe not her, but considering how many wrestlers share a first and/0r last name on the roster, I wouldn't be surprised if JR says her name by mistake as things break down.
Could Kenny Omega add his name to the combatants list? Probably not, considering he couldn't fly to Double-or-Nothing a little over a week ago, but goodness, it would be a fun sight to see.
If Omega were to win the Battle Royal, he would then be tasked with wrestling Jon Moxley, the man he defeated for the World Championship at Winter is Comming and then attempted to kill a few months later in an Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match. If he were to get through Moxley, Omega would then get to wrestle the winner of Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto – so Hiroshi Tanahashi – in the main event of Forbidden Door. Considering Tanahashi was the man who dethroned Omega before his exit from NJPW, a rematch in Chicago could be an easy candidate for Match of the Year.
2. Challenging Jay White at Forbidden Door
If Kenny Omega isn't healthy enough to compete in the Battle Royal or even at Forbidden Door, that doesn't mean the man who helped to introduce New Japan to new fans – and Hot Topics – across America won't get to have another dream match with an NJPW star. No, there's still a chance Omega could make his presence known at the most anticipated AEW show of the year without throwing a lariat; all he has to do is come out after a match and force himself into a program with an established NJPW wrestler.
Jay White? Will Osprey? Both?
Well, considering “The United Empire” is set to feud with “Best Friends” heading into Forbidden Door, at least if the run-in by Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan after a Roppongi Vice match is of any indication, the former option feels far more likely, especially since the “Switchblade” Omega wrestled back in January of 2018 isn't the same man he is today.
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In theory, White and Omega should be on the same team. They're both members of Bullet Club – which is, after all, for life – and both are aligned with Adam Cole and the Young Bucks, but considering how Omega's title run came to an end, everything might not be copasetic in “The Elite” faction, assuming, of course, he finally watched back the match.
Considering White has been working a good bit in both Impact and NJPW Strong and probably wouldn't mind a multi-month run stateside in the leadup to All Out where he feuds with Omega, dazzles AEW fans with some very good matches, and then ends his run – at least for now – by doing the job to Omega in his first official match in almost a year.
1. Kenny Omega feuds with Adam Cole
If Tony Khan wants to get that cross-promotional pop at Forbidden Door and bring Kenny Omega back, but against an AEW talent instead of a New Japan performer, the best choice has to also be the most obvious one: Adam Cole, Baybay.
When Omega took his leave from AEW, he and Cole weren't on the best of terms, to put it mildly. Omega clearly did not like the idea of Cole becoming the new de facto leader of “The Elite,” and let's not forget the tension that regularly shows up between the Young Bucks and ReDRagon. Fast forward to the preshow for Revolution, and Don Callis' highly effective Omega return prank, where he predicted that Cole would win the title from “Hangman” Adam Page and would be an excellent “transitional champion,” at least until “The Collector” made his triumphant returns.
When Omega returns, it most likely won't be as Cole's ally, and despite how they acted in the main event of Full Gear, the Bucks could very well join him.
What if, after whatever match Cole has at Forbidden Door, the Bucks come out and celebrate/lament his victory/defeat. And then, in that in-ring meetup, Omega's music hits, “The Cleaner” appears, and The Elite turns on Cole. Superkick. Superkick. BTE Trigger. One-Winged Angel. “Goodbye, mwah. and Goodnight, Bang!”
Of course, there are plenty of other ways this Omega-Cole feud could kickoff, such a surprise 3-on-3 match with The Elite vs Cole and ReDRagon sometime down the line or a longer-term connection where the faction reunites as friends – a regular sleeper cell, if you will. But regardless of how it starts, this feud would make a ton of sense, and Omega's return deserves to take place on as big of a stage as possible.
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