The title and timing of this piece might scan as particularly (and unfairly) harsh.
Kenny Omega is not that long removed from playing his substantial part in the successful star-making elevation of new AEW Champion Hangman Page. He conducted his business magnificently in a tremendous pay-per-view main event that we later learned he was working hurt for. Or, more specifically, we learned exactly how hurt he was.
In the days following Full Gear 2021, news broke that Omega was dealing with a lot.
Injuries included (but were not limited to) problems with his knees and shoulders, an abdominal hernia that had previously gone undiagnosed and the vertigo he'd already made mention of before the full rap sheet was released. The reality had no choice but to bleed over to the fiction, and just days removed from dropping the belt he was dropping off the face of AEW's earth for a while. The first Dynamite of the Adam Page era opened with a pre-taped promo from The Elite in which Omega admitted he'd not been able to relive the footage of his toughest loss, and was leaving The Young Bucks (and not Adam Cole) to run things in his absence.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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
