10 Ways AEW Has Listened To Its Audience

1. Here Cometh The Cleaner

Kenny Omega Don Callis Impact
IMPACT Wrestling

Ever since All Elite Wrestling launched, people have been clamouring for the old Kenny Omega, the New Japan Pro Wrestling Kenny Omega, the 'Cleaner' Kenny Omega.

While Omega and Adam Page made for a great tag team, AEW was never going to be stupid enough to sit on one of the greatest wrestlers on the planet and let him just be utilised as a tag team performer. Instead, the company opted to play the waiting game with Kenny and carefully plan when to pull the trigger on the Best Bout Machine.

The fans didn't necessarily dictate Kenny Omega's refocussed singles ambitions and heel turn, yet AEW was bound to be listening along to those complaints and moans as some thought they were being short-changed somehow by Omega being used in the tag tanks.

Here we are though, with those same people now getting exactly what they wanted. Omega is a singles star, has captured the AEW World Championship, and he's embraced the elements that made his Cleaner persona so must-see.

Added to that, we've now got a Kenny Omega who is using the oft-ridiculed praise of Dave Meltzer to become even more of a cocksure prick, which adds yet another level of intrigue to seeing what lies ahead for Omega moving forward.

The ELITE Kenny Omega Quiz!

Kenny Omega Njpw Champion
NJPW1972.com

1. Omega Was Convinced Not To Quit Wrestling After Facing Who?

Kota Ibushi

AJ Styles

Prince Devitt

Ryusuke Taguchi
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.