Update On Kenny Omega After Scary AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 Spot

The Best Bout Machine had an incredibly ugly landing from a Tiger Driver '91.

by Andrew Pollard
Kenny Omega Will Ospreay
AEW

Much like they did at Wrestle Kingdom 17 at the turn of the year, Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay put on another absolute war at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door last night. And now, there comes an update on Omega following a brutal Tiger Driver '91 that the Canadian took during this bout.

For those who've yet to see Forbidden Door, the closing moments of this match saw the Best Bout Machine take an utterly disgusting bump on the top of his head from the Tiger Driver. Without any sense of hyperbole, this was one of those landings that immediately has you thinking the worst.

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While Ospreay went to pin his opponent after hitting the Tiger Driver, you could clearly see referee Paul Turner was rightly more concerned with checking on Omega. Likewise, Kevin Kelly was particularly shook up on commentary after witnessing this awful landing from ringside.

Omega would kick out of the Aerial Assassin's pinfall attempt here, but a Hidden Blade and Stormbreaker would be enough for Ospreay to get the 1-2-3 shortly after this spot.

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Speaking on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio (via WrestlingNews.co), Bryan Alvarez noted that Kenny Omega is said to be "okay" after this extremely scary moment.

As Alvarez explained:

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"The words is that Kenny is okay, but I don't know if he's been checked out. I dunno if he's gotten X-rays. I mean, there have been many, many times where guys have taken bumps, they have decided they're okay, and then it turns out that there's a break or something. I mean, I would have that checked out, because that was brutal. That Tiger Driver. Right on his head. Absolutely incredible."

While Omega will clearly be feeling the effects of this latest Ospreay war, this Observer update is at least a positive one where it pertains to a landing which looked thoroughly horrific.

Already, Will Ospreay has thrown out the offer to run this back and do a rubber match against Kenny at some point down the line. Considering the pair have already put on two genuine Match of the Year contenders, clearly there's extensive interest there to see Ospreay vs. Omega III - with some hopeful that'll be a bout which could possibly take place at All In from Wembley Stadium on 27 August.

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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, Jamie Hayer, 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.