The Complete A-Z Of Wrestling In 2017

16. K - Kenny Omega

The Shield Paige
New Japan Pro Wrestling

Whilst WWE tried every cheap trick to cause a pro wrestling earthquake in 2017 with their Jinder Mahal experiment, Kenny Omega remained ten steps (and six stars) ahead of them at every turn.

'The Cleaner's already-legendary trilogy with Kazuchika Okada confirmed itself as the year's most vital talking point before it had already concluded, but Omega continued his waltz through the wrestling zeitgeist by becoming the first ever IWGP United States Champion and the rightful front face of New Japan Pro Wrestling's attempt to conclusively crack America.

Reaching the final of the G1 Climax for the second year running, Omega's grisly final match with Tetsuya Naito concluded what many considered the greatest edition of the tournament in company history, and it wasn't long until the shocking announcement of his Wrestle Kingdom 12 match with Chris Jericho left fans enraptured all over again.

Arguable if he's the very best performer in the world, Omega is irrefutably the most important. His 2017 will never be forgotten.

Contributor
Contributor

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