10 Weird Secrets To Wrestlers' Success

2. Kenny Omega - Leaves WWE, Is Lured To Japan By Comedy Promotion

Kenny Omega Kota Ibushi
Tokyo Sport

Kenny Omega only entered WWE's developmental system because he thought he was getting a spot in All Japan Pro Wrestling.

He joined Deep South Wrestling regardless - an opportunity was an opportunity - but he hated it, feeling those in charge had no grasp of nor interest in his individual potential, and so he left. He was soon lured to Japan by a strange siren's call in a development unlike anything that has ever happened in professional wrestling.

Captivated by footage of Kota Ibushi working for the irreverent, crazed DDT Pro, Omega filmed his own outdoor comedy match in a bid to get work there. It appealed to so many of his sensibilities that, if one believed in such a thing, this could be described as fate. And if like your writer you do not, the retrospective storytelling was ingenious enough to describe it with such reverence, particularly since the Golden Lovers exhibited such uncanny chemistry as a tag team. They moved in perfect synergy bonded, as the story goes, by the same heart.

Again: Omega is a clever enough storyteller to get the romance of such a love story over. But it speaks to his brilliance that it formed the basis for a career unprecedented in this 21st century.

Omega conquered and reinvented pro wrestling without working a single date on WWE's main roster, and now, as EVP of AEW, he has widened the path he himself paved.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!