Kenny Omega: Watch ‘The Cleaner’ breakdown while discussing Kota Ibushi at the StarrCast Panel. The Former IWGP champion explained why he didn’t ask Ibushi to sign for AEW.
Kenny Omega became friends with Kota Ibushi during his first Japanese tour with the DDT Pro-Wrestling promotion. By January 2009, the two formed a tag team and dubbed themselves “Golden☆Lovers”.
Omega debuted for New Japan Pro-Wrestling with Ibushi as his partner and stayed friends with him throughout his tenure at the Japanese promotion. Therefore, it was surprising to not see Ibushi at All Elite Wrestling.
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Kenny Omega along with Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks together formed a Wrestling promotion with Tony Khan at the helm. The quartet signed many names to fill their roster. However, Ibushi was not one of the names in the roster.
At the StarrCast Panel, a fan took the opportunity and asked Omega about the reason Kota Ibushi wasn’t wrestling for AEW. Kenny answered the fan but broke down in the process while talking about his friend.
This man is IN LOVE. Do NOT tell me differently. #STARRCAST @OmegaManAWrest1 pic.twitter.com/fKCUZgvO1e
— H. D. Thang (@ThatWas3Too) May 27, 2019
Omega said:
“I didn’t ask him to sign as I knew he would say yes and it would postpone his dream of being IWGP champion.”
It was moving to see the former Bullet Club leader shed tears for a friend he misses. Placing his friends’ career above his selfish desire to have his friend by his side earned ‘The Cleaner’ an applause from the crowd.
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Kenny Omega was the main event of Double or Nothing. The winner would face Hangman Page for the AEW World heavyweight Championship. Kenny lost to Jericho and then squared up with the newly debuting Jon Moxley. From the looks of it, Omega will now feud with Moxley.