There is an extensive list of wrestlers that you can make a valid claim for as the most outstanding wrestler of all time. I mean professional wrestling has existed for over a century, and many have left an indelible mark on the sport. Names from around the world like Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and even recently Bryan Danielson and Kazuchika Okada who faced off at Forbidden Door this past week. You can throw so many names into the hat and it would be hard to argue their validity. In my opinion, one man who is overlooked because of certain controversies can stand above the rest if we are talking G.O.A.T. Pro wrestling is subjective, of course, and this is only an opinion, but I hope to be able to present Omega’s case.
Kenny Omega’s Case
Omega is a very divisive figure. Many people hate him for the same reasons his fans love him. He has a lot of detractors. Some arguments against Omega make sense from certain perspectives and others are just quite problematic. From criticisms of his maximalist style to his selling to some straight-up homophobia, many arguments are made against his all-time status. Many Omega-haters point out a lot of classic arguments against modern wrestling when talking about the former AEW champion such as a perceived lack of selling, drawing power, ability to tell a story, or Kenny’s supposed killing of the business. These arguments, I believe, can be easily refuted.
Storytelling
Storytelling is as subjective an aspect of any wrestler’s game as any other factor, but I’d like anyone to tell me who is telling a better story than Omega at this stage of the game. Many people prefer the Bloodline saga going on in WWE, which is fair, but personally, it feels too spoonfed. Roman Reigns is constantly delivering 20-minute monologues in his promos and somehow throughout his matches. This is objectively a form of storytelling, but it isn’t wrestling storytelling. Omega doesn’t sit across the ring from his opponent or partners and give a long exposition dump as many wrestling companies have popularized in the past 30 years. This causes his ability to tell stories to go under the radar, but I argue that wrestling storytelling has been completely misconstrued.
Wrestling stories are not “Undead zombie buries brother to win the match” or, “Wrestler thinks he is the godfather and has a ten-minute prepared speech to give in the middle of a match to emotionally manipulate his opponent”. There is no problem with liking this type of storytelling. I have, and still do like many stories in wrestling that are told this way, but this is not wrestling.
Wrestling stories are “grappler is able to ground high-flyer” or “Will this previous injury in wrestler x’s most recent match affect him in his next match?”. Omega is arguably the king of in-ring storytelling. Take, for example, the lead-up to the critically acclaimed tag match at AEW Revolution 2020. Omega was able to sew seeds of descension between himself and his partner without saying a word. The simplicity of Adam Page not reciprocating a “high-five”, or a passive-aggressive tag to his partner was all he needed to get this story across. Rather than give fans the story beats between the moves, he literally tells stories by using wrestling maneuvers.
In the match between Omega/Page and The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega kicking out of a Golden Trigger (the finisher used by him and long-time tag partner, Kota Ibushi) told more stories than Roman Reigns has told in a single 20-minute promo. Hell, he can even do next-level limb-work-based storytelling. Look at his matches with Tetsuya Naito in which Kenny has to overcome an onslaught of offense to his knees. Omega’s selling in the early parts of the match crescendo perfectly into a rush of adrenaline in which Omega is able to fight through the pain and pull off a herculean feat. It doesn’t get more classic than that. I think it’s high time people realize that using high-risk offense or wrestling at a fast pace doesn’t equate to a lack of storytelling.
On top of this in-ring storytelling, Omega’s character work is often criticized as well. This, I cannot understand. Omega has played the most consistent character in wrestling and he has been doing it for over a decade. His flaws, his motivations, and his character arcs have all remained consistent and allowed for such a detailed, spiraling web of storylines. Despite flip-flopping across the face-heel alignment, Omega’s turns always make sense and are never used as “swerves”. His motivation to turn heel on Moxley to win the AEW title is a perfect reflection of his original heel turn in NJPW to join the bullet club. An insecure man who fears not being the undisputed best in the world sacrifices his values to garner continued success.
The difference between many of the greats and Kenny Omega is that Omega’s character feels lived-in and fully fleshed out like a real human being. Oftentimes characters will change alignment out of nowhere or completely change as people once they do. In Omega’s case, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Kenny’s nuanced, slow-burn, interconnected approach to storytelling is revolutionary to the sport and it makes sense that some people would hate it. This form of wrestling has never been done before on this scale. It is very melodramatic, to be fair, but without some of this drama, wrestling would be as dry as dirt. I’d much rather the melodrama translate through in-ring competition than wrestlers breaking into their colleagues’ homes. Wrestling has always been about betrayals, hatred, and blood feuds. Omega has somehow flipped it and made his career focus entirely on themes like love, loyalty, and friendship. If that isn’t your cup of tea that is completely fair, but Omega has revolutionized the way wrestling stories are and will be told.
Star Power
Although I think this is arbitrary in determining how good a wrestler really is, this is probably the most objective criterion on this list. Despite this, it’s hard to argue against Omega’s status as a star in professional wrestling. Sure, he isn’t The Rock or Hulk Hogan, but who is?
The modern pro wrestling star has a much harder time, as the attraction is going to see the brand rather than any one specific member of the roster. The companies have been the draw for the past two decades in North America ever since WWE killed its main competition, and it’s by design. The words “WWE” and “wrestling” are basically synonymous with people who don’t watch the product. WWE has done such a good job of making sure people know WWE is the biggest company in town and completely lacks the ability to create organic stars.
The closest thing WWE has to a draw right now is Roman Reigns, and even then it took almost a decade of failed attempts to make him the face of the promotion. Only when Roman was allowed to be himself and tell the stories he wanted to tell did he become the star the company saw so many years ago. Because of WWE’s success, other companies struggle to make a name for themselves in the world of wrestling. Kenny Omega was able to make a name for himself without any help from the market leader.
Self-made in Japan through sheer talent and force of will, Kenny was able to become a draw. Name a wrestler, who without any WWE experience, was able to accomplish what Omega has. Through 4 matches with Okada, NJPW was able to book the single most important match outside of WWE in decades with Jericho vs Omega. This one match saw an increase of over 100,000 subscribers to New Japan World according to Dave Meltzer. (NJPW’s streaming service). Not only that, Omega was able to create the largest secondary promotion in North America since WCW, and it was done without a single second of television time on Raw or Smackdown. Anyone who doubts Omega’s star power needs to see that without Omega’s ability to get eyes on him in Japan, AEW would never have existed. That is drawing power. It might not be your typical metrics of a wrestler popping a rating for their main-event segment, but Omega is clearly able to create buzz and box-office appeal.
In-ring Ability/Versatility
Which classics are considered to be the best matches of all time? Flair/Steamboat? Michaels/Undertaker? Misawa/Kawada? All of these are great in their own right, and they deserve to go down in history as some of the best matches of all time.
I ask you to think of the sheer range, though, of matches that Kenny Omega has had that can be considered to be in the best of all-time category. Best singles main-event style match? Okada vs Omega could easily be considered the best in this category. Best tag team match of all time? Omega/Page vs The Young Bucks could be considered the best in this category. Best hardcore match of all time? Omega vs Moxley from Full Gear 2019 could, again, be considered the best in this category. This isn’t even considering (what I believe to be) the best “Best of 7 Series” with Death Triangle, the best 2/3 falls match ever with Okada, and even the best cinematic match in Stadium Stampede. The point is, Omega can do it all.
He is somehow able to transition between classic territory-style heels, a deeply tragic and flawed babyface, and a cutting-edge, work-rate deity and he has outstanding matches in every iteration. Omega has the ability to fill and succeed in virtually every role he’s been put in. He can take losses in tag matches on the undercard, and then somehow convincingly be the unbeatable heel champion in less than one year’s time. No wrestler in history has been able to transition so easily into different roles and alignments on the face-heel spectrum while also maintaining the highest standard of in-ring work quite like Omega has.
Whether you agree with Omega’s case for the G.O.A.T, it is pretty hard to deny just how important and influential Kenny Omega has been to professional wrestling. From revolutionary storylines including LGBTQ representation, to having some of the most important matches of the past decade, or to helping to create an alternative to WWE’s sports entertainment, Omega has made his mark on the world of wrestling.
In my opinion, Omega has a strong case for being the G.O.A.T., and his influence will be felt for years to come. While he has many detractors now, like many revolutionary figures, history will look favorably on him. Let me know if you agree or disagree in the comments. I’d love to hear who you think is the greatest wrestler of all time. You can also let me know on my Twitter which is linked below, and make sure to check back at WrestlingHeadlines.net for more of my content! Next up is the case for Bryan Danielson as the G.O.A.T.
