In case you're somehow living under a professional wrestling rock, you've certainly heard the rumor that WWE really wants to sign Kenny Omega when his contract with AEW comes due at some point in the next year or two. AEW fans want him to stay, obviously, as what would All Elite Wrestling be without the leader of The Elite? But still, that hasn't stopped WWE fans from fantasy booking all of their dream matches, from fellow former Bullet Club leaders like Finn Balor and A.J. Styles or new foes like Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.
Speaking on this very topic on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T commented on what losing Omega would mean to AEW – *spoiler alert* it would mean a lot.
“Losing someone like Kenny Omega, that would be a big loss. That would be huge, that really, would. Just because he was one of those guys who put that thing all together. He was one of the brains behind AEW.”
Still, if Omega were to leave AEW for WWE, Booker T would be all about it, as he knows as well as most long-term wrestling fans that Omega is a fantastic performer and would become an absolute star in WWE.
“I don’t know how many years Kenny Omega has left in the ring,” Booker T said. “WWE would make Kenny Omega’s star shine brighter than any other place he ever could be in. If Omega was to sign with WWE, he would likely be presented as one of their biggest stars and potentially work at WrestleMania. … If you don’t work at WrestleMania, you know throughout your career, you missed out on something. I can understand why Kenny Omega would want to mix it up with AJ Styles, two of the best at what they do, at WrestleMania.”
Would Omega be able to shine in WWE like he has in DDT, NJPW, and AEW? Most likely, yes, but still, for that to happen, Omega would have to effectively leave wrestling in Japan in the past, which might be a dealbreaker for the current IWGP United States Champion, especially since he takes great pride in working with Joshi wrestlers in AEW.
Kenny Omega compares Riho to a future WWE Hall of Famer.
Speaking of Omega and WWE Hall of Famers, “The Best Bout Machine” was recently on Swerve Strickland's Swerve City podcast and discussed how a certain former AEW World Champion actually reminds him a lot of a WWE legend who isn't technically in the Hall of Fame just yet but that's only because he's still an active wrestler working SmackDown most Fridays.
“Riho, when she would come out? Eruption!” Omega said via 411 Mania. “And you know, she would get fan mail from all these little girls saying like, ‘Oh my God,’ from their mothers or from the child themselves like, ‘She wants to be just like you, you’ve kind of empowered her. It’s sort of like the — different comparison, but it’s kind of like the Rey Mysterio Jr effect a little bit. Where it’s like, ‘Yeah you know, you’re smaller but you took it to the larger opponent, and you’re an incredible champion.’ He brought a smile to my face, and that really should just trump everything in my opinion.”
Though Joshi wrestlers will receive their fair share of abuse online, with Jim Cornette famously handing out some very insensitive thumbnails for his various shows when performers like Rhio are involved, Omega feels that the tide is starting to turn, with more and more fans appreciating what they bring to the table in matches against Jamie Hayter.
“I think that people have turned around on it a little bit, you know what I mean?” Omega said. “Especially just very recently, we’ve had [Hikaru] Shida just kill it with Jamie [Hayter]. We’ve had [Emi] Sakura come back. And I know people were saying like, ‘What’s Sakura doing here, she doesn’t belong here, what a waste of a contract.’ She killed it with Jamie. It’s like, these people know what they’re doing, they’re fantastic. I’m glad that they’re having the opportunity to kind of — even if they don’t quiet the naysayers, I feel that even the naysayers will watching like, ‘Oh, darn… I feel like I still have to parrot what my favorite says [but] I’m at least gonna keep my mouth shut now, because I know that was great.’ So I’m glad to see them kind of eat their own words a little bit.”
Will the day eventually come when the vast majority of AEW fans – and non-AEW fans who like to comment on the product – appreciate what Joshi wrestlers bring to the table? Hopefully so – maybe AEW just needs to find the right performer to put the promotion over the top? Is KAIRI available for any more international dates?
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