5 Dream Feuds For Kassius Ohno

Kassius Ohno seems to once again be returning to the independent circuit after being included in the staff cuts that broke wrestling headlines this past week. ‘The Wrestling Genius’ was somewhat of a late addition to the lay-offs, becoming the first major NXT star to be released from their active contracts as part of the roster culling. News first broke when WWE moved Ohno into the alumni section of their roster page, leaving the writing on the wall for Ohno fans to start plotting their dream feuds for the former independent hot-shot, Chris Hero.

With so many star attractions now free to compete wherever they please, there’s a lot of potential for blockbuster matches to now take place across the globe. Kassius is perhaps one of the most prolific independent performers of all time, putting together instant classics with the likes of: Marty Scurll, Pentagon Jr and Zack Sabre Jr, but with a whole new range of indie wrestlers performing at the top of their game, there’s a lot for Ohno to accomplish on the scene.

Perhaps Ohno will be drafted to the growing AEW brand, or even jump overseas to NJPW for his first mainstream run in Japan. We’re going to run down 5 dream feuds that we’d love to see ‘The Knockout Artist’ take part in over the coming year.

Make sure you drop your own down in the comments section.

 

1. Tomohiro Ishii

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-th9CtN_m0

Fans of Revolution Pro Wrestling will look back fondly on the first-time meeting between ‘The Knockout Artist’ and ‘The Stone Pitbull’ at York Hall. Their match was as hard-hitting as you’d imagine, putting two of the toughest performers against one another in true slug fest. On that particular occasion, it was Chris Hero that was left standing tall over the Japanese import, Tomohiro Ishii, but I’m sure all fans would agree with me when I say that it could have gone either way. Especially if the match was overseas in the Tokyo Dome.

With former NXT stars like KENTA and Juice Robinson both finding a plethora of success as part of the NJPW roster, there’s nothing stopping a guy like Kassius Ohno from jumping ship to the brand for the first time in his career. Ohno would fit in perfectly with the strong-style enthusiasts, championing a stiffer, more ground-based approach to competition as opposed to WWE’s need for condensed highlight reels instead of well-balanced exhibition matches.

Both men can execute a brawl and technical showcase to a tee, Ohno and Ishii could blow the roof off of the Tokyo Dome, or wherever they happened to compete in if they were to go at it in front of a rabid Japanese crowd.

 

2. Minoru Suzuki

Minoru Suzuki is a terrifying man that can do terrifying things to his opponents. Having witnessed some Suzuki matches at Royal Quest and a selection of RevPro shows, I can testify that watching him forearm another guy in the back of their head is no joke. With Kassius Ohno being such a fan of strong style, and Suzuki himself for that matter, it could make for an excellent one-on-one match somewhere around the world.

Again, I imagine the NJPW audience would create an absolute buzz over this match, so maybe that’s the best place for a contest of such magnitude? Either way, we need to see who can deliver harder forearms out of Minoru Suzuki and ‘The Knockout Artist’, maybe even as a way for Suzuki to pass on the torch from one badass to another.

Not that Suzuki needs to and I’ll deny having ever written that sentiment should he read this and track me down with intentions of knocking me silly.

 

3. Jon Moxley

The current AEW World Champion has developed a reputation for being one of the most hardcore wrestlers on the planet today, whether that be when the rules are thrown out the window or for just being the iron-man of a company, taking on all punishment head-first. I believe a match between Mox and Kassius Ohno could honestly become one of the most talked about matches of the year, if they were let loose on each other and allowed to near-on kill themselves for the sake of wrestling psychology.

‘The Knockout Artist’ never had the chance to meet with Dean Ambrose during his time in WWE, and considering Ohno was almost chosen to be the heater for The Shield back when the concept was first produced, there’s some history worth picking apart in an investing storyline. Maybe Ohno is a little bitter about not being chosen over Roman Reigns? Perhaps he’s bringing that violent bitterness to AEW to take down the guy that didn’t work hard enough to gain access to that historic faction?

This could go down well either as a thorough wrestling match or as a bloody battle between two beastly brawlers. A huge way for Kassius to make his AEW debut, should that be the route he chooses to go down.

 

4. Bandido

Some might immediately assume that a smaller competitor wouldn’t match up well against the burly Kassius Ohno, but I for one believe that a guy who wrestles with Ohno’s style, they are best paired with a performer that has a penchant for high-flying. Ohno has put together some impressive matches with luchadores in the past, including: Pentagon Jr, Drago and Ricochet, so naturally he should meet with one of the hottest lucha specialists on the US scene; Bandido.

Bandido has slowly been raising his stock in promotions like PWG and Ring of Honor, having won the 2019 Battle of Los Angeles tournament and defeating some stocky powerhouses along the way. His matches with Jeff Cobb especially have displayed that Bandido can hang with the bigger dudes, and can take the hardest of strikes from the very best across the globe.

Bandido is a big deal and shouldn’t be slept on by any means; Kassius Ohno could best help show off this young gun’s skills to the rest of the world in a huge dream match and clash of styles.

 

5. Kenny Omega

When thinking of the best of Chris Hero on the independents, you think of his matches with technicians like Cesaro, Daniel Bryan and Austin Aries. With a lot of those stars being snapped up by WWE over the years, it’s made way for a new generation of stellar independent wrestlers to excel in their own right, one of those being the megastar that is AEW’s Kenny Omega.

Omega rose to prominence as part of NJPW and his run as the leader of the Bullet Club; almost parallel to the time when Kassius Ohno was re-employed by WWE to start on his second NXT run. It’s a shame that ‘The Wrestling Genius’ and ‘The Cleaner’ never had the chance to meet, if they did, chances are we would have had a match of the year candidate on our hands.

I am fully behind the idea of seeing Ohno and Omega lock arms and trade shots either in AEW or somewhere across the world. It’s a match that could redefine the career of Kassius Ohno and rejuvenate his star on the indie circuit, while also further building Kenny Omega’s reputation of being one of the best wrestlers on the planet today.

Book this. Please.