10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week

3. Jericho Vs. Omega Was Inspired By Mayweather Vs. McGregor

Conor Mcgregor Floyd Mayweather Boxing_3466309
Sky Sports

Look at the face-to-face picture Chris Jericho put on Instagram to promote his upcoming Wrestle Kingdom 12 match with Kenny Omega for a moment. Seem familiar? It should, because it's almost identical to promotional images used to hype Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor this past August. That's not a coincidence.

Dave Meltzer reported on an episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that Jericho drew inspiration from the lucrative boxing tie for his first match outside WWE since 1999. According to Meltzer, Y2J contacted mutual friend Don Callis (who works as an English-speaking announcer for New Japan World) to see if Omega would be interested.

When it became clear the IWGP United States Champ was game, Jericho met with NJPW officials and laid out his plans. In Meltzer's words, this is a "one shot" deal for Jericho with the Japanese promotion and it won't lead to a longer run.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.