It's happening, AEW fans, it's finally happening: after having to cancel his appearance at AAA TripleMania Regia 2021 to defend the AAA Mega Championship, Kenny Omega will be facing off against El Hijo del Vikingo for free on AEW television on the next edition of Dynamite.

Taking to social media to announce the match, Tony Khan boldly declared that the match is on and that fans should buckle up for one heck of a show.

“In a dream match that was postponed in 2021, Kenny Omega will finally go one-on-one vs. the amazing El Hijo del Vikingo LIVE on TBS this Wednesday!” Omega wrote.

Wow, crazy, right? Not only is Vikingo, a favorite of Rey Mysterio, coming to America to work arguably the biggest match of his career, but he's doing so on live, broadcast television, which, to this point, hasn't been allowed due to his contract with Lucha Libre AAA. Despite a resume of featured appearances at GCW, DEFY, PWG, Warrior Wrestling, and Dreamwave, Konnan and company didn't initially allow the second-generation star to appear on camera; a condition that has since been remedied for matches at GCW and Dreamwave.

Now for fans out of the know, landing Vikingo is a pretty darn big deal for AEW, as not only is Vikingo one of the best high-flyers in all of professional wrestling, a generational star who eclipses even the likes of Dragon Lee, Bandido, and Rey Fenix, but the promotion actually tried to book him the Face of the Revolution Ladder match heading into the March Pay-Per-View, only to have to settle for Komander because he was unavailable.

Now freed up to throw down on the next edition of Dynamite, hopefully in the opening match, so there are no commercial breaks, Omega and Vikingo will finally get to test their mettle for the first time in their respective careers and hopefully add another 5-star match to their resumes, but in reality, this match is a long time coming.

Kenny Omega has been trying to wrestle El Hijo del Vikingo for almost two years.

In July of 2021, the Twitter account Lucha Gifs shared a video of Vikingo paying homage to Omega before flipping a One-Winged Angel attempt into an avalanche suplex. Though far from the first time the duo had acknowledged the other, it did spark a response from “The Best Bout Machine,” who compared the second-generation AEW star to none other than AEW's Jungleboy.

“The balance and core strength this takes is incredible,” Omega said. “With a little more raw power, he could have done it just as good as me. I’ve said El Hijo del Vikingo is one of the best for a reason. Much like with Jungle Boy in AEW, I want to crush your future too, Lucha Libre AAA.”

This response from Omega drew a reaction from Konnan in the comments section, with the AAA booker offering the “The Cleaner” a chance to work things out in the ring, writing, “Kenny, I know you’re all about giving the fans what they want so let’s give it to them Omega v Vikingo.”

Much to the chagrin of wrestling fans, the match was booked, and it looked like fans were going to see Omega taking on Vikingo at AAA TripleMania Regia 2021, but unfortunately, “The Belt Collector” had to pull out of the match because of the extensive surgeries needed following his match against “Hangman” Adam Page at Full Gear. Taking to social media to apologize for his inability to wrestle, and, more importantly, beat the bricks off of Vikingo.

“Fans of AAA, by now I'm sure you've heard the news. I'm out; I'm injured; I need surgery,” Omega said via Wrestling Inc. “And you'd think ‘jeez Kenny, that's great. You can rest, you can heal, you can come back a better champion for us.' That's not how this story goes. You see, your promotion is taking this belt from me. I wanted to beat you Vikingo. I take joy in beating each and every one of your heroes one by one by one. But AAA, you're stealing the belt from me. After breaking the record by holding your belt longer than anyone else has before, did you once offer to postpone the match? No, and I figured out why. Because this is the only way, isn't it? It's the only way you're ever going to get it off of me.

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Tony Khan with Nikki Bella on his left and Brie Bella on his right with the AEW logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Nick Jackson of the Young Bucks on the left with a text bubble reading "He’s been the next breakout star for a while now" 2024 Jack Perry in the middle and Matt Jackson of the Young Bucks on the right with the AEW Dynasty logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Tony Khan with a text bubble reading "I think it made a lot of sense" next to CM Punk and Jack Perry with the AEW Dynasty logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

“But it's okay, I'll let it slide, and I'll tell you why. This gives you a chance to build a brand new hero. Whether it's Vikingo or not, it gives you that chance. And if I know anything about how you run your business, it's that when I come back, I get first dibs. And that'll be the first step in winning the belt again, and that'll be the first step in not only becoming the greatest wrestler in North American history, but also the greatest wrestler in Japan history. And then by winning the Mega Championship for a second time and breaking my old record, I'll become the greatest luchador in professional wrestling history. So enjoy the time now while I'm gone, because I'll be back. I promise you.”

Disappointing? You bet, but Vikingo wasn't ready to let his dream match die, as he told Denise Salcedo in an interview for Instinct Culture that he remains hopeful for a match with the longest-reigning AAA Mega Champion in the strap's history.

“The third time's the charm,” Vikingo said via Fightful. “It's now been two occasions that Kenny Omega and I were gonna wrestle, but for this and that, it wasn't able to happen, but now I have the Visa. So if he doesn't come (to Mexico), then I will go look for him. Expect some big surprises. Why not have ‘El Gran Jinete' go and look for him in his own house? Anything can happen. My home, AAA, is always giving surprises. I don't know, maybe in the future, I will go to his house, or him in ours, or somewhere in the middle. Anything can happen.”

Fortunately for Vikingo and Omega, their respective dreams have been answered; Tony Khan booked the duo for Dynamite, and if there's any justice in the professional wrestling world, we'll see the match many more times after that, as Omega-Vikingo II sounds pretty good if you ask me.