Kenny Omega is one of the most well-traveled performers in professional wrestling today. He's worked for New Japan, worked for Ring of Honor, and worked in dozens of other promotions across the professional wrestling world, from Pro Wrestling Guerrilla to Top Rope Championship Wrestling, before helping to found the first legitimate challenger to WWE since WCW closed up shop alongside the Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, and Tony Khan.

Having taken part in 1,224 matches to date, according to Cagematch, Omega has worked with some of the best performers in professional wrestling history, from Kazuchika Okada to Jon Moxley, and he's about to take part in one of the biggest matches of his career come Wrestle Kingdom 17, when the prodigal son will return to the promotion where he picked up his seven-star bout, NJPW, for a generational showdown against his long-time internet rival, Will Ospreay.

Fortunately, a fan online decided to tweet out a video highlighting Omega's match with Kevin Owens, then known as Kevin Steen, back in Ring of Honor from 2010, and “The Best Bout Machine” not only saw the post, but retweeted it himself with some insight into his true feelings about KO.

“Even though we only did it a few times and on very short notice, it was always a joy,” Omega wrote. “He’s been the real deal for a looong time.”

Whoa, Omega's that big of a fan of Owens? Well then, maybe when the latter's contract with WWE expires, he can bring his talents to AEW, and the duo can finally work matches once more, maybe with a reunited Mount Rushmore should Adam Cole be healthy enough to compete again? Unfortunately, based on his conversation with Peter Rosenberg of The Ringer's Cheap Heat, it sounds like KO won't be jumping ship any time soon.

“Now, I have two more years left on my current contract,” Owens said. “I don't see a reason why I wouldn't sign another one when it's done because I don't feel like I'm anywhere near done, but who knows what could happen. At this stage in my career, I really want to have fun and make sure I'm still putting out memorable stuff for people watching. I look back at the career I had and if it all ended tomorrow, it would be hard to have any kind of regret because I've done some incredible stuff and I've been very lucky to do what I've done. Every other show, every other thing I get to experience is a bonus because I'm not really sure how I can have a better career than I've had already. That's not me patting myself on the back, I'm just saying I've been very fortunate.”

*Sigh* oh well, if Owens ever gets that run on the indies where he can go toe-to-toe against the best talent outside of The Fed, maybe he can score a match with Omega at a future PWG event. But first, Omega might have a date with Rich Swann, who reportedly feels he has unfinished business with “The Best Bout Machine.”

Rich Swann wants to even his record against the ex-AEW Champion.

Speaking of Swann, in his conversation with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, the former Impact World Champion was asked about his bout with Omega back in 2021 and explained that he still feels he has unfinished business with the former AEW Champion.

“There's a lot of unfinished business,” Swann said. “We never got a rematch, you know what I’m saying? Man, I know that Forbidden Door is still open, your boy Cass just had a world title shot at IMPACT against Josh [Alexander]. You know what I mean? He's a part of AEW. Hey Kenny, this is a message to you. Don't be scared, I know you beat me. But hey, don’t be scared. Let's run it back.”

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Kenny Omega next to Rossy Ogawa with the World of Stardom logo as the background.

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Solo Sikoa with a text bubble reading "I had to lose a brother to gain an MFT" next to Tama Tonga and Paul Heyman with the SmackDown logo as the background.

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Kenny Omega with a text bubble reading, "Could Logan Paul walk into New Japan and do the G1?" next to Logan Paul with the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Climax logo as the background.

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While the match in question wasn't perfect, it was a major milestone for the concept of the Forbidden Door and elevated Swann's status as an “Impact player” following his release from WWE in 2018.

“So personally, man, it just, it made me feel like all the doubters and the naysayers and the people that said ‘hey, you're not gonna make it in this business as anything, because you're 5 foot 6, you're 175 pounds.' ‘Oh, you'll never be…' I was able to show that gold and put it in their face,” Swann said. “Professionally, you know, it definitely put me at another level. I was able to wrestle one of the most revered wrestlers in our industry today, Kenny Omega, in a high-profile main event match, you know what I'm saying. Two companies came together, AEW and IMPACT Wrestling, one pay-per-view, one ring, two world titles. I would have never gotten an opportunity wrestling in other places, and I was just, you know, elated.”

Will Omega ever go toe-to-toe with Swann again? Only time will tell, there is a clear connection between the two performers, but they are clearly heading in very different directions, with Omega working towards the trios titles in AEW and Swann working the Impact midcard. Still, in professional wrestling, you can never say never.