Update on Kenny Omega’s plans for full-time return
After spending more than a year on the shelf, AEW star Kenny Omega plans to ease back into a full-time schedule.
Omega will return to the ring on January 5 when he faces Gabe Kidd at NJPW & AEW’s Wrestle Dynasty event in Tokyo. It’s the first time Omega has wrestled since December 2023, when a life-threatening bout with diverticulitis forced him out of action. Omega underwent surgery in May and has been working his way back to the ring since.
Now set to return, Dave Meltzer reports that Omega “wants to take it slow before going back full-time with the idea of easing into a full-time schedule down the line and hoping everything holds up.”
Kenny Omega’s first match back in well over a year is 1/5 at the Tokyo Dome against Gabe Kidd. It’s very interesting because Kidd works a very physical style and with the angle that set it up with a backstage fight, it has to be a high-intense brawl style match. A lot of people brought up the idea of why Omega is doing his first match in New Japan, but the 1/5 show is a joint show with AEW and in a sense it’s considered the AEW debut show in Japan, where his return would mean the most. But Omega does need to get going on U.S. television in a big way if he’s physically ready to work regularly. Right now he wants to take it slow before going back full-time with the idea of easing into a full-time schedule down the line and hoping everything holds up.
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19 and Wrestle Dynasty are being held at the Tokyo Dome on back-to-back days. The latter event is set to feature wrestlers from NJPW, AEW, Stardom, CMLL, and ROH, including The Young Bucks returning to Japan to challenge for the IWGP Tag Team titles.
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.