Kenny Omega is arguably the biggest wrestling star in the world to have never wrestled in the WWE main roster. But that doesn’t mean he has never signed for the promotion. The Cleaner was a part of Deep South Wrestling back in 2005, which acted as a developmental territory for WWE at the time. He requested and was granted his release in 2006, following which he decided to pursue a career in Mixed Martial Arts instead. He attributes his time in the WWE to wanting to move away from wrestling.
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Fortunately for the fans, he returned to pro-wrestling and made a name for himself in the independent promotion before moving to Japan. Omega became a popular figure in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he led the Bullet Club stable. He eventually left NJPW with The Young Bucks and Cody Rhodes (The Elite) to help create AEW.
AEW is currently the only promotion in the world that has a chance to even compete with the WWE. Much of the credit goes to The Elite.
Cody Rhodes eventually parted ways with them to rejoin WWE. Fans have since wondered if the other three will follow suit. However, it appears that Tony Khan may have no such worries with The Cleaner.
Kenny Omega says he almost quit wrestling because of WWE
In a recent interview with “Monthly Puroresu,” Kenny Omega talked about his time with WWE. He did not hold back in his opinion of the way the company was run during his time in their developmental.
“At that point I had thought maybe wrestling isn’t for me because I was thinking at the highest level, when it becomes more of a business rather than a passion. Maybe I’m not the businessman that I thought that I was, maybe I was never meant to be at the highest level,” Omega revealed.
Omega added that the micromanagement in the promotion made him fall out of love with the sport and second guess his understanding of it.
He felt that the most successful wrestlers were the ones that were unique, special and in charge of their character, but in the WWE, they were being told that they were not their own person. They were told to act and say exactly as they were told, and anyone who dared to do something else was declared wrong.
“My worry at that point was if this is what wrestling is, or if this is what it’s become, maybe this isn’t what I fell in love with,” Omega said. “Maybe this isn’t my childhood dream anymore. Maybe I just need to consider doing something else. Or just give it up,” he said.
Kenny Omega is one title away from being AEW’s first Grand Slam Champion
Kenny Omega’s first gold in AEW was the tag titles he won alongside future rival Adam “Hangman” Page. They defeated SoCal Uncensored to win the titles from them. This was the first ever title change in AEW history. They eventually dropped the titles to FTR after an almost 7-month long reign.
Omega returned to singles action after the loss. He participated and won the tournament to earn his right to face Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship. Omega turned heel during the Championship clash and beat Moxley to kickstart his 346 days reign, the longest in AEW history as of writing.
He eventually dropped the title to friend turned foe Adam Page at Full Gear, following which he went into hiatus.
Omega returned just in time to participate in the inaugural AEW World Trios Championship tournament last year. He partnered with The Young Bucks to become the inaugural AEW World Trios Champions.
They had to vacate the titles following their backstage altercation with CM Punk, at All Out last year. The trio returned after serving their suspension and won the titles again. They most recently successfully defended them against A.R. Fox and Top Flight.
The only AEW title he has yet to win is the TNT Championship. In fact, he has never even competed for it. Should he someday win the title, he will become the first ever Grand Slam Champion in the promotion. He is, so far, the closest person to the achievement. And everything considered, he is arguably the most deserving on the roster.
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