10 Booking Steps For Kenny Omega As IWGP Heavyweight Champion

6. Avenging The Switchblade

Kenny Omega
NJPW

'Switchblade' Jay White kicked off the most prosperous year of his career thus far by taking advantage of Kenny Omega as 'The Cleaner' lived in denial over hitting rock bottom in his personal and professional life. A bruising and bloody war with Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom hadn't gone far enough to help him reassert dominance in Bullet Club, and the misguided attempt to bring White into the fold resulted in him losing both credibility and his title.

It was all of course a masking agent for a peak performer mourning both the loss of his competitive edge and true love of his life. It seemed as though another shot at Kazuchika Okada's IWGP Heavyweight Title was as far away as a reunion with Kota Ibushi, despite the latter eventually guiding him to the former within months.

Omega's remarkable redemption story wasn't concluded at Dominion, and giving White an overdue receipt for his early-year assaults will hide the growing discomfort in the relationship between the Golden Lovers. King Of Pro Wrestling in October would be perfectly timed too - it offers Omega a final major title defence before his evocative Wrestle Kingdom showdown, and a strong win to remind Ibushi of the challenge he faces.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett