Do you think Kenny Omega will ever go to WWE?

[psychokiller]

Do you think he’ll eventually show up in WWE? I’m kind of mixed on it since on one hand he’ll be more popular on a global scale but at the same time I have little faith in how he’ll be used at this point.

[Deleted]

I figure he probably will at some point down the line but not any time soon. Maybe about five years from now for a run kind of like AJ's current one of just building some mainstream successes and his bank account for awhile before calling it a career.

[Fade]

A few years from now? Absolutely. Don't think they'll "ruin" him...pretty sure like AJ, he could rise above the shit, so-to-speak.

[Slanted and Enchanted]

Jan 3, 2018 15:24:59 GMT -5 psychokiller said:

Do you think he’ll eventually show up in WWE? I’m kind of mixed on it since on one hand he’ll be more popular on a global scale but at the same time I have little faith in how he’ll be used at this point.

I mean, there are still so many things that need to be accomplished from him in NJPW. Such as a feud with Cody over the Bullet Club, facing off against Ibushi, and winning the IWGP title. By that point perhaps the perception of WWE might have changed from independent wrestlers and maybe it isn't the Ellis Island of the wrestling world any longer. I guess it all depends on how well indie standouts continue to get treated in the WWE. And from my vantage point, barring a few misses, they seem to be doing pretty well.

[Allie Kitsune]

Kenny strikes me as a guy whose dream was to move to Japan and build a full life there.

There may come a time where he wants to be in Canada more often, and if that happens, I could see him coming back to NA and the E.

If he does jump, I don't see him still having a knockoff Sephiroth theme and all the video game references (since that's Xavier's schtick, and for some reason TJP still hasn't shed the last few remaining vestiges of his quasi Scott Pilgrim gimmick), but I'm sure they'll let him hang in the orbit of AJ or Finn.

I'm much less inclined to think he will jump now, though, considering how disappointed he is in how Shinsuke's been used in the E.

[Tenshigure]

Jan 3, 2018 15:32:02 GMT -5 Allie Kitsune said:

I'm much less inclined to think he will jump now, though, considering how disappointed he is in how Shinsuke's been used in the E.

This is the big point here, really. I'm sure had Nakamura been treated far better in 2017, we could have potentially seen him jump ship sooner than later. Now, unless 2018 radically corrects the ship after their numerous mistakes, I don't see him even replying to voicemails from Hunter at this point...

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

Hasn't it come out that he'd only go if the Bucks go with him? And that they have zero interest in the WWE?

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

Yes. Probably sooner than later but I think he's not making a move until he gets the IWGP title off his bucket list

[Hobby Drifter]

I could see him doing something extremely short term (like what Jericho is doing in NJPW) but a full run? Not for a long time.

I can't blame the dude. I've lived in Japan for a decade and you'd need a crowbar to get me out for any great length of time.

[sportatorium]

Seems likely that he will show up there eventually, but as others have said- doesn’t seem like it will happen anytime soon.

[Deleted]

I hope not. I like WWE.

But then they'll probably make shedloads of cash with him so it would make sense.

Basically I want WWE as successful as possible but only with guys I like.

[cabbageboy]

I think he is probably 4-5 years away from doing so. If AJ Styles called it a career at some point I can see Omega being offered an insane amount of money to come in and take that spot. I do worry that Omega's style might not translate to a safer WWE, or in shorter matches. And I have said this before but he really needs to work on a submission or secondary finisher if he went to WWE, since he might be facing bigger dudes that he can't get up for One Winged Angel.

[Deleted]

Yep he will and it'll be within the next 3 years.

[AdamAFL was sooooo wrong]

Honestly I really doubt it. Kenny seems genuinely happy in Japan and he seems like the kind of person who doesn't see the WWE as something he needs to do to feel his career is complete. We'll see, 'cos I obviously don't know the bloke personally but I just don't see it.

[Final Countdown Jones]

Kenny feels like a guy who actually comes off like he means it when he talks about wanting to build something outside of WWE. New Japan is already making him one of the focal points of their company and of their American expansion, and he seems to want to keep pushing that and giving the company everything he can to help make it bigger. There might come a point where he moves, but it's not as soon as anyone may think. Not when he's got a rocket up his ass. Gedo loves his gaijin, but they're always kept at a certain level. The spot of Bullet Club leader is a big one and I think with the last two having been signed away by WWE he's only willing to go in hard on Kenny with the certainty Kenny has the passion to stay and commit. Balor never made that last push to the IWGP title, AJ did but AJ was always going to because you don't get AJ Styles and book him as a chump. Kenny was relatively unproven for New Japan when they went on to make him Okada's equal and had him in that position before the infamous six star match, and I think with that level of commitment and investment comes the feeling they have him for the long haul and can do something important with him.

[EoE: Workin On My Night Cheese]

Maybe at the back end of his career after a long New Japan run, just as a bucket list thing once he’s had the big star run there. Kind of like Nakamura in a way.

[abjordans]

He will come at some point. A year or two ago, I thought he was working about truly not being in a hurry, and he would be there sooner than later. But, he seems to be really happy doing what he is doing. I imagine at some point he is going to have done everything to do in Japan, then will be WWE time.

[DrBackflipsHoffman]

I hope not, one because it's good to have somebody making bank and a name for themselves outside of WWE and to be in the rare position of them needing him rather than the other way around for a change and two because WWE have managed to take some of the best wrestlers in the world and make me just not give anything that resembles a f*** about any of them any more. I'd rather keep looking forward to seeing Kenny Omega wrestle.

[HMARK Center]

Jan 3, 2018 19:40:37 GMT -5 EoE: Workin On My Night Cheese said:

Maybe at the back end of his career after a long New Japan run, just as a bucket list thing once he’s had the big star run there. Kind of like Nakamura in a way.

This nails it, I think.

Kenny's been making a full time living in Japan for years now; he's nearing the summit of the mountain in that scene, and has the potential to not only be IWGP champion, but to lead NJPW in a global expansion, which has the potential to be a big and very fulfilling challenge for him, all with his best friends at his side. Combine that with the very good money he makes, and it would likely take a lot to draw him away.

That said, Kenny has brought up before that he did grow up watching and enjoying WWF, and that he'd love if he could do a one-off, short-term deal to face AJ at a Wrestlemania. Plus, WWE made AJ Styles one of their top paid talents, to the point where he's one of the few people in the promotion making over $1 million a year, some sources saying he makes over $2 million a year. If WWE really, really wanted Kenny and they backed up a Brinks truck with something like a 3 year, $7-9 million deal (along with contracts for the Bucks), it'd likely be very hard for him to say no, but WWE also knew they had more to gain by signing AJ given that he used to be on a TV show that used to draw around 1.5 million viewers in the US so WWE felt more motivated to offer AJ a bigger deal. Short of an AJ-level deal, complete with an offer to the Bucks ala what WWE gave Gallows and Anderson, I don't see Kenny jumping too soon.

Make no mistake, though: Kenny could be a top draw in WWE, and a big part of it is his versatility in the ring, his personality, his storytelling abilities, and his sheer ability and work ethic. But as a fan I'd much, much, much rather have him in NJPW tearing the world up like he is now.

[Viking Hall]

I honestly don't see it, for the first time in a long time it feels like there's a shift occurring and Omega is someone that is at the forefront of that change. He's one of a growing number that are becoming genuine internationally known stars without the WWE and I can only see more following his path. For me it feels like the WWE is becoming an increasingly bloated mass which is only a pin prick away from deflating and it wouldn't surprise me to see that happen within the next five years or so. I don't think we'll ever see wrestling without the WWE but I do see them scaling down significantly and in turn other promotions reaping the rewards from that.