Does Kenny Omega Need to Come to the WWE?

Every few months or so, the wrestling world talks feverishly about one man. A man who has led the famed Bullet Club. A man who achieved a six star match – when only five stars were ever meant to be possible – on three separate occasions in 2017 alone.

That man is Kenny Omega.

Kenny is no stranger to big matches. His series with current IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, is the stuff of legend. The two (currently tied at 1-1-1 in their match history) are set to face off once again at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Dominion PPV event on June 9, in a no time limit, 2-out-of-3 falls match. A few months ago, Omega was again at the forefront of wrestling conversation in a history making match with none other than former WWE Champion Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 12.

When Jericho made a surprise challenge to Omega, everyone was shocked to see a WWE guy in New Japan. Could this have been a cross-promotional mega event to finally see “The Cleaner” appear in a WWE ring?

Speculation ran rampant in 2017 when the rumour mill was in full force that the former IWGP Intercontinental Champion would make his debut at the Royal Rumble, following the same path as former Bullet Club leader AJ Styles, who made his WWE debut at the Rumble back in 2016. The WWE Universe was that much closer to having three previous Bullet Club leaders in it (the third being the original leader of the Club, Finn Bálor, previously known as Prince Devitt).

It’s no secret that Kenny Omega has been on WWE’s radar for sometime. Many years ago, in fact, Omega was signed to them under a developmental contract with Deep South Wrestling, long before NXT was the apple of Triple H’s eye. However, his brief time there was unfruitful and Omega was particularly critical of previous long-term WWE trainers such as Bill DeMott, before requesting a release from his contract and striking out on his own, pre-New Japan.

Some wrestling fans who only subscribe to WWE may be familiar with Omega already through Twitter. He is a friend/rival of New Day’s own Xavier Woods (aka Austin Creed). Woods hosts a successful gaming channel on YouTube, UpUpDownDown, a channel with over one million subscribers. Woods and Omega are both avid gamers and have occasionally competed against each other in games such as Street Fighter.

The relationship between Omega and the New Day has led the four to want a cross-promotional match, pitting The Elite (Omega and The Young Bucks) against New Day, with the respective trios finding ways to take subliminal shots at each other in their own promos.

In an interview with Bleacher Report, Omega commented on the plans: “The New Day angle fell flat on its face. I just sort of thought that from here on in, trying to even challenge WWE guys, if there was no payoff, there’s no reason for it. It would’ve been dumb.”

The closest we fans got to the crossover was Kenny versus Jericho back at WK12, in a match titled ‘Alpha vs. Omega’ – a match that quickly became the biggest and most talked about in all of professional wrestling. Jericho’s stature outside of the WWE bubble allows him a certain freedom to pretty much do as he pleases. He can appear in Japan one night and a WWE show the next, alongside being a touring musician, and makes it look easy.

With Wrestle Kingdom being the WrestleMania of Japan, it’s fair to say that Jericho brought more eyes to the product than ever before, granting more exposure than ever to Kenny Omega. The attention was absolutely warranted, with Dave Meltzer awarding the match five stars. Just another notch on Omega’s already outstanding resume.

The fact of the matter is this – no matter where Kenny Omega goes or who he wrestles, he will continue to receive near universal acclaim and be one of the top performers in the world. Many of “The Cleaner’s” fans would be far too nervous that a stint in WWE would do the first-ever IWGP United States Champion no favours: Vince would bury him, he wouldn’t be allowed to put on 5-star calibre matches, he would be wasted, etc.

I would argue, however, that Kenny Omega doesn’t need WWE. Right now, he is back in one of the most beloved and popular tag teams in Japan, the Golden Lovers, alongside Kota Ibushi. He has another chance at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Not to mention he has signed another contract with New Japan that will see him with the company until 2019.

I think of legends within the industry like Sting, who, prior to his all too brief WWE run was perhaps the greatest wrestling star to have never worked for the company. Then there are other legends of Japan like Kenta Kobashi, The Great Muta, Mitsuharu Misawa and Rikidozan – none of whom wrestled for WWE, but were so beloved and influential in their home turf that their stories and legacies transcended continents and inspired hundreds of wrestlers for years to come.

Right now, with the amount of exposure Omega has and the number of new fans to NJPW in awe of his work, there is no reason why he too will not become one of the all-time greats.

As incredible as it would be in this period of wrestling popularity, and what with WWE stocks at a record high, it would be a treat to see Omega go one-on-one with the likes of AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins.

But the fact is clearer than ever – Kenny Omega does not need WWE. WWE needs Kenny Omega.