With New Japan Pro Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom less than a week away, the hype for the most anticipated card of 2023 – at least so far – is only continuing to grow. Will “Switchblade” Jay White be able to retain his title against Kazuchika Okada? Will AEW's FTR drop their third-straight title to Bishamon after winning the straps at Forbidden Door? And what about the match between Zack Sabre Jr. and Ren Narita? Which performer will become the first-ever NJPW World Television Champion?

Surely Wrestle Kingdom 17 has a card with a little bit of everything for everyone, as ex-WWE performers like Kairi (Sane) to current WWE performers like Karl Anderson will be in action, but the match with by far the biggest marquee appeal has to be the one between AEW's Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay, the current holder of the IWGP United States Championship. Years of back-and-forth banter online and an ever-expanding portfolio of interviews jabbing at one another, the feud between “The Best Bout Machine” and “The Commonwealth Kingpin” runs far deeper than their match history would suggest, as the duo have only shared the ring on one occasion for singles action.

For Omega, returning to New Japan and the Tokyo Dome is a real full-circle moment, as “The Cleaner” became a star in the promotion, left it to “bet on himself” with the then-upstart promotion AEW, and became an international star on American television in a way that seemed unimaginable a half-decade prior. And for Ospreay? Well, he takes issue with the very concept of Omega betting on himself when he left NJPW for a bigger contract and a fancy title, as, according to Ospreay in an interview with NJPW.com, it's not exactly a gamble when you're using a billionaire's money.

“I think it’s kind of rich coming from him, saying that he gambled, created his own path,” Ospreay said. “He just was… like ‘we gambled on ourselves?' You took a bet with a billionaire’s son(‘s money), bruv. Calm down.”

“So, the thing is, I’m not going to deny Kenny’s star power at all. I’m sure when you look at the fan engagements behind Kenny Omega, I’m sure it spiked, I’m sure ticket sales have gone up on this match, front and center, you said it. Like, I’m not denying Kenny’s star power, I’m not denying that so many people want to see Kenny back in a New Japan Pro-Wrestling ring. But what I will deny until I’m blue in the face is (the idea) that you’re better than me. I don’t think anyone’s on my level. There’s a reason why you came back. You’ve got a cushy job with AEW, getting paid ludicrous amounts of money, and you’ve decided to come back. I do think that’s because you’re scared, I think if you don’t do something about this now, while you’re still able to be the Kenny Omega that we still kind of remember, if you can shut it down now then maybe you’re in with a chance of extinguishing the flame that Will Ospreay is. But I don’t think you have got a chance anymore.”

“I honestly believe that this is my time, and just like the Tokyo Dome did for you back in 2017, and it skyrocketed you into a new stratosphere of star, that’s exactly what’s going to happen to me. Because all those people that you’ve brought back to new Japan, all those guys happy to see you back- they’re all going to see you go down to me. That’s the most beautiful thing. I won’t deny your star power at all, I won’t deny your drawing capability at all. But you’re going to bring in all these people that are going to watch you lose.”

Omega is a star; he's easily one of the top-5 active “indie” wrestlers outside of WWE, and his presence on the Wrestle Kingdom card alone should draw in plenty of additional eyes to the show, as Impact Wrestling learned firsthand when “The Belt Collector” was vying for their title. If Ospreay can best Omega with that many eyes on his work, it could be his Omega-Okada moment, maybe he too could become a star worthy of American television as one would assume both AEW and WWE would be all-in on signing up the man to bested “The Best Bout Machine” in his triumphant return to the Tokyo Dome. And if not? Well, then he'd have a perfect excuse to return to AEW to fight for his United States Title, which would push that same narrative forward.

The AEW Trios Tournament gave Will Ospreay valuable insight into Omega.

So how, you may ask, is Ospreay preparing for his match with Omega? Well, he does have pretty recent experience getting in the ring with “The Cleaner” dating back to this fall, when the 29-year-old British-born star began taking part in the AEW World Trios Tournament in a bout against The Elite on the latter's way to an eventual title win over the Dark Order at All Out. Though Omega was returning from injury at the time, his behavior around the bout did provide Ospreay with some valuable insight into his opponent.

“Uhh, I feel like especially because Kenny had only just come back from an ungodly amount of injuries like, the mission objective, it would have been nice to win those trios titles, but the mission objective wasn’t to beat him, it was to hurt him,” Ospreay said. “And I was able to get even, do you know what I mean, after all the ‘Sugar Honey Iced Tea' talking, and all the cease and desists and all the back stabbing, I just wanted to hurt him, and I accomplished that mission.”

“But I did see flaws. He’s unstable sometimes in his wrestling. He takes his eyes off the ball, he isn’t as calculated as I would like to imagine. His stri- he hits hard and he’s very creative, but he takes his eye off the ball to do silly taunts and put himself in positions where he knows he has openings that I can seize on. So, this is where I think, I’ve mastered. I never take my eye off of a guy. I take risks, sometimes they don’t pay off, but I, I, you can’t argue with my win:loss record this year. I think I’ve lost like six matches this entire year. So my gameplan with this is I have to be a very defensive wrestler, and I have to wait until Kenny makes his moves so I know how to counter and come back.”

Is Ospreay correct? Could Omega's hubris be his downfall in the match, especially if he overlooks his in-ring foil? Only time will tell, but considering the duo aren't exactly keeping their cards close to their chests, it seems like both parties will enter the contest ready for an all-out war.