The title of this week’s column comes via an interview quote from Kenny Omega himself.
When discussing his then-upcoming match with Jon Moxley, Omega talked about his performances in big match situations, casually dropping the line about the time running thin on his clock. I don’t think it was supposed to be the focal point of what he was talking about, but it’s what a lot of people, myself included, picked up on immediately.
Kenny Omega is going to celebrate his 40th birthday this October. Pro wrestling has seen some phases where a 40-year-old was basically considered ancient, but in this day and age, 40 won’t make most fans look at you funny. Chris Jericho (53 this November), Rey Mysterio (49 this December), AJ Styles (46 next month), R-Truth (51 this past January), Bobby Lashley (47 this July), Edge (50 this October), Billy Gunn (60 this November), Christian Cage (50 this November), Dustin Rhodes (54 last month), Jeff Jarrett (56 this July), Sting (64 two months ago), and many more are helping to change the way people view age in the sport. Things are so different now that people like Damian Priest (41 this September), Gunther (36 this August), Orange Cassidy (39 two weeks ago), Malakai Black (38 this week), LA Knight (41 this November), Santos Escobar (39 last month), Chad Gable (37 two months ago), Karrion Kross (38 this July), and Keith Lee (39 this November) are either currently viewed as “young” and “stars of the future” or were at least pushed like it somewhat recently.
What sets Omega apart from the “normal” wrestler looking to turn 40 soon is his recent medical history. He just missed nine months dealing with a torn labrum, a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery, a hernia, and bouts of vertigo that he had been dealing with since 2018. That’s not something you accumulate in a match or two, obviously. It’s years and years worth of working yourself crazy. His pro wrestling career started over 23 years ago. He has spent several years working a stiff, physical style of work in Japan, with a lengthy period of time where it seemed like he didn’t wrestle a match that didn’t last at least 30 minutes. To borrow a phrase that you see thrown around in the NFL Draft scouting process, Omega has a lot less tread on his tires than a lot of other “prospects” his age.
On a few occasions, I have half-jokingly written about the possibility of Omega heading to WWE when his AEW contract is up. As a fan of Omega, and as a fan of both WWE and AEW, all of the possibilities intrigue me. If you ask me what I want to see for his future, my answer might be “go to WWE” one day, “stay in AEW” one day, and maybe even “go back to New Japan” on another day. Right now, instead of talking about what I want to see happen, I want to focus more on what I think should happen. We’ll look at the WWE side of things, as well as the AEW side of things.
Let’s start by discussing Kenny’s current AEW contract. From everything that has been reported by multiple sites, his deal currently expires at some point at the end of 2023. Obviously, exact dates are pretty difficult to come by when it comes to these things, but his original contract was set to expire in January 2023, but AEW added some time to the deal because of the time he missed with all those injuries I mentioned earlier. That’s a pretty standard practice in pro wrestling. So, depending on exactly how much time was tacked on, that would indicate his contract expires anywhere from October to December 2023. An AEW contract that is set to expire in the last couple months of the year? Well, that immediately brings one thing to mind for a lot of fans, no matter what company you call your favorite…
The Royal Rumble.
Every year, without fail, the Royal Rumble brings all sorts of rumor and speculation with it. So-and-so has a contract running out, so they might make their debut in the Rumble! Wrestler A has been out with insert-injury-here for months now, so they’re probably going to make their big return in the Rumble! Even if it’s wild, baseless speculation about someone that has never even been rumored to be WWE-bound, you’ll inevitably see their name attached to some sort of story, column, social media post, etc. about a Rumble appearance.
Could a surprise debut in the 2024 Royal Rumble work out for Kenny Omega?
Absolutely. I have seen people say that some of it depends on where the 2024 Royal Rumble takes place. As of now, there hasn’t been an announcement on what city and venue will be hosting next year’s event. We do know that Tampa, Florida and Orlando, Florida are very interested in putting in official bids to host the event, if they haven’t already done so. We all know WWE loves to hold big shows in Florida these days. With a lot of wrestlers, equipment, and training based in the state, a ton of money and time can be saved by having a big event there instead of somewhere where everything and everybody needs to make a bunch of travel arrangements.
I’m not fully on board with the argument that it matters where the Rumble is held, at least as far as a Kenny Omega appearance is concerned. WWE has made the Royal Rumble a bigger and bigger event, and much like WrestleMania or SummerSlam, you’re getting a very “smark” heavy crowd in attendance for the Rumble every year. You can pretty much put the Rumble anywhere, and you’re going to get those types of fans at the show. The fans who watch AEW. Fans who watch New Japan. The fans who know who Kenny Omega is, and will react accordingly if he were to make his debut in the Rumble match.
Because I’m a former resident of the Orlando area (Oviedo and Winter Park) and still have several connections in and around the city, let’s just say Orlando places the winning bid to host the Royal Rumble a little over eight months from now. That would be the first Rumble to be held in Orlando since the 2016 edition. Do you remember what happened at the 2016 Royal Rumble? A certain marquee free agent name made his WWE debut in the Rumble match, nearly blowing the roof off of the Amway Center in doing so. This free agent had made quite the name for himself in Florida, but also as the leader of an infamous stable in Japan called the Bullet Club.
Of course, I’m referring to AJ Styles. Just because it’s fun to connect dots that don’t always necessarily need to be connected, do you know who attacked Styles in early-2016, not only kicking AJ out of Bullet Club, but replacing him as the group’s leader?
Kenny Omega.
Even if this exact scenario happens, I don’t see WWE mentioning the whole “Omega led the Bullet Club in turning their backs on Styles” thing. You’ll probably get Michael Cole or Corey Graves mentioning that both men have a “history” together, perhaps even doing the name-dropping that WWE commentary has gotten fond of since Vince McMahon first took his hiatus, with New Japan getting discussed. No matter what is, or isn’t, said on commentary, I would fully expect Omega to get an absolutely thunderous crowd reaction if he were to be a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble. Orlando, Tampa, or Timbuktu… it doesn’t matter where.
Because I know some people are thinking about it, I feel the need to point something out here. When discussing how big a star AJ Styles was in 2015 and 2016 compared to how big a star Kenny Omega is in 2023 and 2024, you have to look at the television viewership numbers for Impact back then and the numbers for Dynamite and Rampage now. The numbers really show what a weird and damn near unprecedented position AEW is in these days. If you’re looking at the viewership numbers for television, Impact had a bigger audience. If you look at their averages for 2013, when AJ left the company, he was gone when Impact was pulling in an average of over 1.25 million viewers every week. For the sake of comparison, AEW Dynamite is currently averaging around 860,000 viewers every week over the last couple months, while Rampage is averaging around 411,000 viewers every week over the last couple months. AEW has battled stiff competition with the NBA and NHL postseasons, while Impact was battling Thursday night NFL games at that time. While Impact “wins” the television viewership battle, there is a less-than-zero percent chance Impact could sell 70,000+ tickets for a show at Wembley Stadium in 2013. Impact had four pay-per-views in 2013, pulling in a total of 15,100 fans over those shows. In March 2013, Lockdown drew 7,200 fans at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, and that was the company’s largest domestic attendance number to date. No, they didn’t open the entire Alamodome up for seating, but we’re still talking about a venue that was the host of this year’s Royal Rumble, where over 51,000 fans were in attendance. Even a WCW house show in 1999 brought in over 14,500 fans there.
When AJ left Impact, there was a stigma, fair or not, surrounding his ability to be a “big fish” in any sort of “big pond” when it comes to wrestling. He had done very well for himself in Ring Of Honor, Impact, and some various independent promotions, but could he do anything beyond that? AJ proved that he was able to do so in New Japan, performing in, and headlining, many shows that easily topped what Impact was doing as far as attendance goes. He became a much bigger international star while with New Japan.
However, he was no Kenny Omega in Japan. Once Omega gave Styles the boot and began his run as the Bullet Club leader, he helped take things to an entirely different level. His match performances were otherworldly, and him breaking Dave Meltzer’s infamous star rating scale multiple times had people paying attention to New Japan that probably wouldn’t be paying attention otherwise. Outside of the added boost that AJ got from the 2016 Rumble being in Orlando, Omega would be in a much better situation for a WWE debut.
Now, let’s take a look at the other side of the coin.
How about Omega staying with AEW?
He’s someone that has, for all intents and purposes, been with AEW from the very beginning. AEW has been working on building their brand for the last four years, and a lot of that work is set to pay off soon. Two days after this column is posted, we will hear from AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery about their new TV rights deal, rumored to be worth at least $1 billion over five years, with rumors of AEW pay-per-views potentially moving to the HBO Max (soon to be relaunched in the United States as Max, combining the HBO Max content with the Discovery+ streaming library) service. All In(nit) is on pace to smash almost every possible record for a non-WWE show in wrestling history. A little less than two months ago, the company debuted a brand new reality television show on TBS. Part of the aforementioned TV rights deal will see the company debut a brand new show, Collision, which will air on TNT from 8-10pm every Saturday, with the debut episode reportedly being the vehicle to bring CM Punk back to AEW programming. The company’s revenue numbers continue to go up every year. When you put all of that together, this seems like a strange time to walk away and go elsewhere.
First and foremost, you know… k-n-o-w… that Omega will get a major “loyalty reward” if he re-signs. You know good and well that Tony Khan has seen what Cody Rhodes has done since leaving AEW. Even though he didn’t defeat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, he was still in the show’s main event, wrestling in front of 81,000+ fans as, arguably, the biggest babyface in all of pro wrestling. If Omega can avoid falling in love with the idea of doing similar things in WWE, re-signing with AEW will be viewed in such a positive light by so many people. Not only would he get the love from Tony Khan, but the notoriously internet-savvy AEW fans would already know all about it, and they would shower him with even more love and adoration than they normally do.
Clearly, AEW is something that not only Kenny Omega the wrestler truly believes in, but also Tyson Smith the human being truly believes in. That should go without saying. We wouldn’t be having this conversation otherwise, as he either would’ve stayed in Japan all along, or he would’ve signed with WWE in 2019 when they offered him a contract before he joined the AEW team, or the handful of times in prior years that they came knocking with a contract offer. How much does he believe in AEW now compared to four years ago? That’s the key question here. I think it’s clear that he views a Triple H-led WWE in a much different way than he did a Vince McMahon-led WWE. Don’t forget that he was once signed to a WWE developmental deal, all the way back in late-2005 and early-2006, before requesting his release. He has been very public about how much he disliked his time in Deep South Wrestling, not enjoying the time he spent with trainers such as Bill DeMott and Jody Hamilton, and hating how much the company felt the need to micromanage every little thing about a wrestler’s look, the way they act, the way they talk, and so on. It was so bad that he contemplated leaving the business altogether, as he said his time in DSW made him lose his passion for the sport. Everything you’ve ever heard about Vince McMahon tells you how much he has to micromanage everything, even if it means he’s cutting off his nose to spite his face. Kenny has had a lot of positive things to say about Triple H recently, down to the vision that Trips has for the future of the sport.
When I think about these types of scenarios, I try to put myself in the person’s shoes. What would I do if I were Kenny Omega? The first place my mind goes to is financial security. When it comes to how much AEW wrestlers make, there’s not a lot we can do other than go off of rumors, speculation, and reports. For example, when MJF returned to AEW last year, it was reported that he had been given a pay raise, while not having any extra time added to his contract. His new deal was reported to have been for more than $1 million for the year-plus that he had left on his contract. When he first signed with AEW, his deal was rumored to be for between $40,000 and $70,000. Then, his first raise took him to the point where he was making “hundreds of thousands” per year, and now, the $1 million deal.
Just for the sake of argument, let’s say that Kenny Omega makes just about the same amount as MJF does. If he currently sits at making about $1 million a year, you have to assume a new AEW contract would come with a bump in pay. AEW wrestlers don’t travel as much as WWE wrestlers do, which would help that money stretch longer. On top of that, Omega isn’t married and doesn’t have children, stretching his money even further. Even with inflation beating the shit out of the United States right now, $1 million a year is more than enough to live comfortably.
Would he make more money in WWE? It’s certainly a possibility. The rumors are that Cody Rhodes is making “multi-million dollars” per year with his new WWE contract. Cody had more “name value” than Omega does, which could demand a higher amount of money, but I can’t imagine Omega “jumping ship” without a noticeable pay increase. $1.5 million? $2 million? Again, putting myself in Kenny Omega’s shoes, I’m not leaving AEW without, as just a start, more money.
Another contract “perk” that seems obvious, at least to me, would be where Omega is placed on the proverbial ladder in WWE. Is he going to leave AEW, even for a pay raise, only to be losing to Baron Corbin in five minutes on a random episode of Smackdown? I’m not saying there needs to be a “that doesn’t work for me, brother” clause in any deal Omega signs with WWE. What there should be, though, is some sort of assurance that he stays at a certain level on the card, at least for an established amount of time.
What happens to both companies in the aftermath of Omega’s decision? If he chooses to go to WWE, AEW will continue doing exactly what they’re doing, and if he chooses to stay in AEW, WWE will continue doing exactly what they’re doing. The big difference is that AEW would continue doing what they’re doing without one of the biggest in-ring performers they’ve ever had. Any attempt at “replacing” him isn’t as simple as putting someone else in a main event role or signing another free agent or two. Kenny Omega is viewed by many as the heart and soul of AEW. It would be a big blow if he decided to leave. Yes, it was a big blow to the company when Cody Rhodes left, but that was still an entirely different situation. Live crowds had already begun to turn their backs on Cody, and a lot of the online reaction was of the “he was always more of an outsider, anyway” variety. I’m sure a lot of that reaction had to due with hardcore AEW fans feeling scorned by someone (an EVP, of all people) actually deciding to leave for WWE, but it was still there.
I know I’m all over the map here, but this is a topic that has my mind racing like crazy. There’s a lot to unpack, and there are a lot of branches to look at on both sides of the tree. A lot of us, at some point in our lives, have struggled with the “what if” situations. Maybe we didn’t make a move on someone we had feelings for, and they ended up getting married to someone else and starting a family. Perhaps we had a chance to start our own business after spending years working in an office somewhere, but fear kept us from taking that leap. One of the final things I want to bring up here is that very “what if” thought process for Kenny Omega.
If he stays with AEW and ends up spending the rest of his career there, how many “what if” questions will be in his head about never getting to wrestle (on the main roster) for WWE?
How about if he leaves for WWE? If he makes the jump, how many “what if” questions will he have if AEW rides the upcoming wave of major momentum to become a much bigger promotion?
Honestly, I want to see the man go to WWE. Before any of you AEW diehards get your undies bunched up, that isn’t a knock on AEW at all. I want to see Kenny Omega in WWE for the same reason I see the Drew McIntyre rumors and want the “Scottish Warrior” to end up in AEW… I love when sports get a major jolt. When there are free agency periods in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and so on, I usually like seeing big stars sign with new teams. In wrestling, I like it when new names show up in new promotions. Kenny Omega arriving in WWE opens the door for new matches and feuds, many of which we never thought we would ever get the chance to see. That’s what I felt when it was first reported Cody Rhodes could return to WWE, it’s what I feel about Drew McIntyre possibly going to AEW, it’s what I feel about The Young Bucks possibly going to WWE, it’s what I felt about a potential Sasha Banks debut in AEW… you get the point. As a wrestling fan, I want to continue being treated to new and exciting events. That’s all.
Would I be upset if Omega stayed in AEW? Not in the slightest. Even if Triple H really and truly understands Kenny and his vision for what the pro wrestling business is and should be, there’s no place for Kenny Omega to truly be Kenny Omega like AEW. That’s where he would have the most creative freedom, and it’s where he would be able to have the exact type of matches, on a more regular basis, that he wants to have.
What say you? When January 1st, 2024 rolls around, where do you want to see Kenny Omega wrestle? More importantly, why? As always, you can hit me up in the comments section below, or on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Weekly Power Rankings
Rey Fenix vs Claudio Castagnoli: Many of Claudio’s best matches feature him facing a much smaller, high-flying opponent. This was no different. Both men pulled out the best from their opponent here, and it was so much fun to watch.
Seth Rollins vs Damian Priest vs Shinsuke Nakamura: I don’t think anybody thought Rollins had a chance of losing here, but WWE played it smart by at least adding intriguing options. Priest was coming off of getting major praise from fans and company personnel alike for his performance at Backlash, while Nakamura was in the middle of another possible restart as a big-time player.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci: I certainly would’ve liked to see Kaiser and Vinci built up some more before going on to challenge for the Tag Team Titles instead of losing a non-title match on their first official night as members of the Raw roster, but hey, at least the match was good.
Kenny Omega vs Jon Moxley: Brutal. Physical. Violent. This Steel Cage Match was everything we thought it would be. It will mostly be remembered for Don Callis turning his back on his wrestling son, but the match was still really good. I do have one complaint, though, and it’s one that I have made multiple times in the past. For the love of all things holy, can we stop with Jon Moxley’s lazy blade jobs smack dab on the fucking screen for everyone to see? He looks so stupid slowly dragging a blade across his forehead in full view of the camera, and AEW’s production probably looks even dumber for continuing to fucking show it every single time he does it. It makes Mox look like he doesn’t care about anything at all, and it makes the AEW producers look like they’re students learning on the job.
Edge vs Rey Mysterio vs AJ Styles: Edge was teased as a legitimate option to win here after his video where he said that winning the new World Heavyweight Title would be a great final portion of his story, and that he wants to win it and then retire whenever he eventually loses it. I do like the decision to go with AJ here, though. He needs to be pushed as a big deal, and this is a great step in that direction.
Seth Rollins vs Finn Balor
: This match was going to be really good to begin with, but it was made even better because of the callbacks to their match at SummerSlam 2016 where Balor won to become the very first Universal Champion, but had to vacate the title 24 hours later because of a shoulder injury. I dig little storytelling touches like that.Orange Cassidy vs Daniel Garcia: After taking a week off from my rankings, this is more like it. Another good Orange Cassidy match where he successfully defends whatever his title is called this week, but it continues to mean very little because there isn’t anything to it beyond “Cassidy defends against Random Wrestler 2783 this week.” Please give the title more than just that moving forward.
The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn vs Kip Sabian, The Butcher & The Blade: If you combine Billy Gunn, Kip Sabian, The Butcher, and The Blade, you probably have one or two appearances in my rankings over the last couple years. At most. This was a fun six-man tag, though, featuring a hot crowd for the face squad, as usual.
Bobby Lashley vs Austin Theory vs Sheamus: A lot less drama with the result here compared to the other Triple Threat on Smackdown, but it was still fun. While I didn’t think Theory should’ve won this match, I would really like to see him pick up some wins that are more than the super cheap variety. I had hoped his character would turn the corner once Vince McMahon left the company, and it looked like that might be the case at first, but a lot of the momentum he could’ve had has completely fizzled out by now.
Miro: In all of AEW, there aren’t many more head-scratching booking decisions than the company’s failure to capitalize on a red-hot Miro. He was putting on some of his best in-ring work, combining it with some of the best promo work of anyone in the business at the time, and it just didn’t elevate him to where many of us thought he could go. Yes, he ended up having the second-longest TNT Championship reign in the history of the title, but when the belt is basically being passed around every month, it tends to cheapen that a bit. Now that Miro is back for the first time in several months, maybe things can be different for him.
Cody Rhodes vs The Miz vs Finn Balor: The match was good, but it was more of a vehicle for the expected interference from Brock Lesnar to remove Cody from the tournament.
AJ Styles vs Bobby Lashley: Another one of those tough spots that wrestling companies back themselves into, where both competitors really needed a win and neither of them should be losing anything right now. The “right” person won here, but the loser really shouldn’t have taken a loss, especially when he could very well be a major challenger for Roman Reigns sooner than later.
CM Punk & Samoa Joe Possibly Feuding Again: The third and final match of their legendary trilogy in Ring Of Honor took place nearly 18-and-a-half years ago. Their rivalry might resume soon, though, at least is Punk gets his way. Reports are saying that Punk has been pushing to face Joe again. While I have no expectations of a match between them in 2023 reaching the heights of that trilogy, I would still love to see them face off again, at least for the nostalgia factor. I think Punk could bring the best out of Joe, though. Joe has lost a step or two after all the injuries that he has racked up, but you know that he would be extra motivated to be back in the ring with his old nemesis.
Julia Hart vs Anna Jay: It wasn’t a pretty match in any way, shape, or form, but it wasn’t supposed to be. It has been getting some unnecessary hate on social media. Both women worked really hard, and they delivered a fun brawl.
Trick Williams vs Bron Breakker: I wasn’t really sure what to expect here. Bron is still fresh off of his heel turn and hasn’t had a ton of matches where he got to play the “veteran” role. Trick is fresh off of his face turn and hasn’t had a ton of matches, period. This was Trick’s 16th televised match in NXT, and he has been there for 20 months now. It wasn’t a long match, but it was enough to show that Bron Breakker is still really good at this wrestling thing, and also that Trick Williams continues to have a bright future if he continues making the strides that he has made.
This Week’s Playlist: “Stuck” by Thirty Seconds To Mars… “Emotion Sickness” by Queens Of The Stone Age… “Ring Ring” by CHASE B, Travis Scott, Quavo, Ty Dolla $ign & Don Toliver… “All My Life” by Lil Durk & J Cole… “Dark Void” by Asking Alexandria… “Ghost Of Me” by Make Them Suffer… “welcome2paradise” by Conquer Divide… “Everything” by Sevendust… “Enter Sandman” by Motörhead… “Artificial Dose” by Veil Of Maya… “CHAIN” by The Acacia Strain & Jacob Lilly… “Depraved Mind Murder” by Fear Factory… “Never Leave Me Alone” by Nate Dogg & Snoop Dogg… “Why You Treat Me So Bad” by Club Nouveau… “Hurricane” by The Click… “Throw Some D’s (Remix)” by Rich Boy, Andre 3000, Nelly, Murphy Lee, The Game & Jim Jones… “Lost (Remix)” by Gorilla Zoe & Lil Wayne… “Moon Baby” by Godsmack… “Whatever” by Godsmack… “Keep Away” by Godsmack… “Voodoo” by Godsmack… “Awake” by Godsmack… “Dig” by Mudvayne… “Tití Me Preguntó” by Bad Bunny… “Neverita” by Bad Bunny… “BENDICIONES” by Bad Bunny… “Chambea” by Bad Bunny… “Mares De Miel” by Alejandro Sanz… “Jealous” by Maoli… “Gotta Get Away” by Pati, Fiji & Michelob