Kenny Omega Says Now Would Have Been The Right Time To Join WWE

In an interview with TSN’s Jay and Dan, Kenny Omega said that although he signed with All Elite Wrestling, now probably would have been a good time for him to sign with WWE. Here are highlights:

On his tag team with Kota Ibushi: “Back in Canada and the American indies, I was just a real athletic dude doing professional wrestling. I never felt that there was anyone active on the scene that was quite like me until I saw this video, this DVD, of this guy named Kota Ibushi. As soon as I saw the video of this guy, I was inspired. I felt, ‘I have to meet this guy. I have to work with this guy. I feel that we can do something very special and something very unique together that no one has ever seen before.’ So I had the chance to go there and wrestle him. At first we were rivals. We fought against each other. Then we developed a real life friendship. I was supposed to be a one and done guy. Go to Japan for one trip and I’ll never be seen again. I’ll be able to retire happily and that’ll be my wrestling career. But we developed this relationship and there was supposed to be two matches and we said, ‘Let’s throw away that second match. Let’s just become a tag team. Let’s really do something new and cool.’ Because when we were doing it in 2010-11, there really wasn’t much in the way of tag team stuff and we just wanted to reinvent the entire concept of two guys working together in the ring.”

On how different his career would be if he didn’t go to Japan: “It’d be over. It’d be ballgame. I don’t know what I’d be doing. I was at a crossroads at one point. I was really into mixed martial arts. I was competing in jiu-jitsu locally and within Manitoba and I really enjoyed it. But I felt there was something inside of me that wanted to be a performer.”

On why he didn’t join WWE: “You know, it just wasn’t for me. I learned a lot. There was a lot of things that helped me take the next step after I left WWE. I had always felt when I had full creative control of my own person and own ideas that I could really be the true me and the real me and show my full potential. At that stage of my career, probably not. 10 years later, 12 years later, yeah, maybe now would be a good time. I was actually heavily considering going there earlier in the year, but AEW, this new promotion that we’ve got going, that just seemed right for me. I always get really excited at the idea of having full creative control and just doing new things.”

If using any of the quotes, please credit TSN with an h/t to 411mania.com