The Misunderstood Genius Of AEW's Kenny Omega

Kenny Omega
AEW

It is also a story rooted in a classic pro wrestling philosophy espoused by the late, great Jerry Jarrett: if you can get the people to believe in the first beat of the story, they will be more inclined to invest in what follows. With a believable hook dropped, and the animosity between both men established, Omega worked on incorporating a fictional element to the programme.

Omega accused Ospreay of being unintelligent, mentally unstable, and unable to withstand the pressure of being the top foreign star in New Japan. This too was believable - Ospreay is very candid about his mental health struggles - and Omega pecked at his psyche. To remind Ospreay of the old Omega, who presided over the company in more lucrative times, he added extensions to his hair and reverted to Sephiroth imagery during his entrance at Wrestle Kingdom 17.

In the press conference that preceded it, Don Callis negged Ospreay and embellished Omega's success in Japan to further cast him as the Final Boss. Callis, in tremendous form, borrowed the old Pele line: it was raining in Japan when Omega departed in 2019 because God was crying. Ospreay was beaten before the bell rang; in a superb promo all the better for its near-total lack of composure, he called Omega a "c*nt" as he boiled. The first thing Ospreay did in the match was charge at Omega with a furious sprint. He was beaten before he went down for the three.

The detail in their seminal January 4 match was incredible. Forensic. Omega, unable to keep pace, needed to shatter the superior athlete and ruin him mentally. Early in the match, after smacking him repeatedly in the back of the head, Omega struck Ospreay between the shoulder blades with a series of open-palm strikes. This was Omega literally getting Ospreay's back up, inflicting a sharp, irritating pain and lulling him into impulsive errors. Ospreay fought with too much unrestrained emotion, but was able to use the agility, over which Omega was so defensive, to cartwheel out of a hurricanrana attempt. Omega, though, was able to guide Ospreay around the ring. The puppet master had him on strings.

CONT'D...(3 of 5)

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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!