Kenny Omega wants wrestling companies to ‘play nice with each other’
Kenny Omega would like to see more collaboration within the wrestling business.
One of the biggest wrestling stories this week was TNA Wrestling pulling its talent from upcoming indie matches against AEW stars. Omega spoke with The Takedown on SI about the situation and expressed his belief that the pro wrestling industry as a whole still has untapped potential. He believes working together would help elevate everyone.
“If you’re in a bubble for too long and you failed to realize what exists outside your bubble and how small your bubble is, and in this case, we’re talking about professional wrestling, I think you start to run into problems like this where someone will think that they’re better than somebody else, and that there is no reason to work together, and they don’t see the upside,” Omega said.
“They can only look at the negatives and the downsides. And I still think that we’re in a place where professional wrestling can still be more than what it is. And I do think that if there were situations where we could all play nice with each other, then I really do think that business as a whole would move in towards more of a positive direction, we’d see more of a positive trend.”
Omega understands that, with the money involved in wrestling, a potential barrier to working together is each promotion wanting to look the strongest. He believes that issue is solvable — and he thinks Tony Khan would be willing to hear him out when pitching potential collaborations.
“I do think that at the end of the day, if everyone were to really just sit down and figure out a way to make it happen, it’s more than doable,” Omega said. “We’ve seen it in other sports, other forms of media. This isn’t just a thing that’s unique to professional wrestling…
“I really do think that with how passionately I do feel about working together with everybody and anybody, that I think Tony would hear me out and also entertain the idea as well. I think it’d be great for fans, and I think at the end of the day, too, it’s only a net-positive for all of professional wrestling.”
A scheduled indie match between MJF and Nic Nemeth was one of the bouts that has fallen through with TNA’s recent change. TNA President Carlos Silva has cited “partner conflicts” as the reason behind the promotion’s decision.
MJF is the current AEW World Champion — but that could change this weekend. He’s defending the title against Omega at Sunday’s Dynasty pay-per-view in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.