Armchair Booking: Okada Vs Omega In AEW

Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega delivered one of the most critically acclaimed and universally respected series of matches in pro-wrestling history. Likened to such historic trilogies as Flair/Steamboat and Undertaker/HBK, Okada/Omega has gone down as one of the greatest feuds of the modern era, a defining chapter of New Japan Pro Wrestling that brought thousands of new eyes to the product over its two year span.

Since Omega finally put Okada’s shoulders to the mat for the long-anticipated three count, fans revered the conclusion to a fantastic in-ring narrative, witnessing a seamless continuity between all three encounters that helped both Okada and Omega to be seen as two of the very best performers in the world today.

Since their finale at Dominion, they haven’t shared the same ring, with ‘The Cleaner’ moving away from New Japan to be a key player in forming the AEW brand in the United States. Meanwhile, Okada continued to be the headlining attraction for NJPW, capturing the IWGP World Championship on another two occasions and only recently dropping it to Tetsuya Naito at this year’s two-night Wrestle Kingdom event. With Okada now having very little left to accomplish in the Land of the Rising Sun, might there be bigger things awaiting him overseas?

Could AEW recapture the magic of the Okada/Omega series and bring their MOTY quality performances to one of their blockbuster events? We can see the relationship between the two promotions starting to flourish in recent activity, so a meeting between the two iconic stars could certainly be on the cards for sometime in the next year.

But how exactly could AEW go about booking this mega-rematch? Let’s run down some possible scenarios.

 

Road to Redemption

Kenny Omega hasn’t exactly had the best luck in his AEW singles career. Having lost to the likes of Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley and PAC, his chances of becoming a main-event champion have diminished significantly. Let’s say that Jericho drops the AEW World Championship to Moxley at AEW’s upcoming pay-per-view, Revolution, it could be the start of a road to redemption for one half of the current AEW Tag Team Champions.

AEW are currently teasing a civil war between members of The Elite, with The Young Bucks set to collide with Omega and Hangman Page for the Tag Titles this coming Sunday. Once Omega finishes playing peacekeeper, he would decide that it’s time for him to cut ties with the rest of his former Bullet Club counterparts and go solo to try and regain some of his former status.

Omega would start by challenging Chris Jericho, the man who started Omega’s downfall in America. After Jericho loses the AEW Championship to Moxley, there’s nothing to stop him from taking a few losses. A brutal blow-off between ‘The Cleaner’ and ‘The Painmaker’ would make for an exciting feud that fans have been waiting on since Omega took the L during AEW’s inaugural main event last year.

Omega would look to scratch off all the names that stole a win from him over the course of the past few months. Taking out Jericho first would make a huge statement to the AEW fans and management backstage to start seeing him as a future contender to Moxley’s AEW title.

Of course, Kenny would secure the win over Jericho and put those demons to bed. Perhaps this could also write Jericho off for a few months, allowing him and The Inner Circle to reconcile some momentum in the process. Omega would then set his sights on ‘The Bastard’, another singles competitor who managed to get one-up on Omega with his violent submission move – The Brutaliser.

Omega and PAC have had some absolute bangers at recent AEW events, but things seemed to have cooled off for PAC and he’s been left to wander about the division aimlessly since. Nevertheless, he has the victories to put himself in-line for a shot at the AEW title. With that in mind, Omega could easily climb the ranks to sit himself just behind PAC, making for the perfect number one contenders match prior to AEW’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view.

Omega and PAC have displayed some incredible in-ring chemistry in their previous matches, so a chance to see them put a sequel together would be nothing short of a treat. With a shot at Moxley’s AEW Championship on the line, Omega and PAC would leave it all in the ring, with Omega coming out on top and taking another name off his hit-list.

With the road to redemption almost complete, Omega only has to defeat Jon Moxley and take home the AEW Championship to settle those niggling insecurities. This match could easily headline any future AEW pay-per-view, having had a prior MOTY candidate in their unsanctioned match and enough star power respectively to compete with any mainstream wrestling show.

Perhaps this could be AEW’s summer attraction, putting a very determined babyface Omega against the relentless champion Moxley in an instant classic. Omega would of course come away as the third AEW Champion, once again solidifying him as one of the hottest products outside of WWE and still worthy of being on top of a singles division.

 

Enter ‘The Rainmaker’

With Kenny Omega now on top of All Elite Wrestling, there’s need for a new number one contender worthy of taking down a motivated ‘Cleaner’. By the time summer 2020 comes around, I highly suspect we’ll see the relationship between AEW and NJPW blossom into something very beneficial for both promotions. Headlining stars from both brands could start being traded for small runs overseas, allowing for mid-carders and ailing main-eventers to be given some new experiences and fresh rivalries for them to sink their creative teeth into.

For big shows such as the annual ‘All Out’ events in Chicago, AEW could easily beckon the most spectacular of New Japan’s roster for a one-night-only appearance to help make it a night wrestling fans will never forget. Of course we’re talking about the likes of Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito and ‘The Rainmaker’ himself, Kazuchika Okada.

While AEW are scrambling through win/loss records to find the ideal candidate for a championship main event with Kenny Omega, Okada could easily lay claim to his shot against his former rival, having never been given his rematch for the IWGP World Championship after Dominion. Okada could easily plough through some dream opponents to help justify his elevation over whoever’s currently in-line for a title match: Adam Page, Cody Rhodes, perhaps even a fellow NJPW talent such as Kota Ibushi, all potential match-ups that could position Okada as one of the top stars of AEW within the space of a few weeks.

With the world buzzing for the renewed rivalry between Omega and Okada, the match would finally be confirmed for AEW’s Chicago special in September, making for one of the most exciting main-events on US soil in recent memory.

In the weeks leading to Chicago, Omega would remain respectful of his opponent yet constantly reminding everyone that he was the one to first beat Okada during his ‘reign of terror’ as IWGP World Champion. Omega would suggest that he has Okada’s number, no matter what Kazuchika does to put Kenny down, he simply won’t be able to beat him on his battlefield. Okada’s lost his confidence, his mojo is you will, since losing to Jay White, Naito and Ibushi since Omega left. Okada needs this win, and that desperation is what Omega is going to take advantage of.

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Okada, on the other hand, plays it like an absolute superstar, surrounding himself with the hype and pageantry that only he can command over the weeks prior to Chicago. Okada reminds Omega of the fact that he holds more wins over the champion and that it only takes one big Rainmaker to remind him of the fact that Okada has always been the better man.

This has all the making of a match that could split the AEW crowd right down the middle, with many having to choose a side between their champion and NJPW’s biggest export. Everyone, including the champion himself would know that this is Omega’s biggest challenge to date in AEW. Could he finally put his legendary feud with Kazuchikda Okada to bed in one final clash? Or could this be the start of Okada’s dominance in America? It could honestly go either way, but one thing’s for sure, Dave Meltzer’s going to be throwing out all the stars.