Kenny Omega In NJPW Doesn’t Take Away From AEW Return

The pro wrestling return of Kenny Omega in NJPW doesn’t hurt his potential AEW comeback, according to a good friend of his.

It has been a year of recovery and rehabilitation for Kenny Omega since the former IWGP & AEW World Champion has been battling diverticulitis. The illness led to a long layoff, which also included surgery and Omega has yet to return to the ring.

At New Japan Pro Wrestling Power Struggle on November 4th, Kenny Omega said he wanted to represent AEW against a young member of the NJPW roster at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5th, 2025 in the Tokyo Dome.

Later that night, Omega was involved in a backstage altercation with rising NJPW star Gabe Kidd, which could set up a match between the two wrestlers. NJPW would go on to fine Kidd for his actions.

Rocky Romero Doesn’t Think Kenny Omega’s NJPW Return Hurts AEW

Before AEW launched in January 2019, Kenny Omega became one of the most well-known wrestlers in the world outside of WWE because of his success in New Japan. Since Omega was having some of the best matches in the world, he got a lot of attention from the wrestling world and became a big name in the business.

Veteran wrestler Rocky Romero works for both AEW and NJPW as a wrestler, as well as in backstage roles. While talking to Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, Romero spoke about how Omega views NJPW and why making a return at an NJPW show isn’t going to hurt AEW at all.

“I think Japan, especially New Japan, is something very special to Kenny. He doesn’t forget where this boom for Kenny Omega started. It was obviously New Japan many years ago. For that aspect of it, it’s very important and he is an [Executive Vice President] and he takes that role very serious, especially being one of the guys who founded the company.

It’s a goodwill type of gesture to come back, and obviously, he’s a massive name in Japan. A massive, massive name. The first time doing Wrestle Dynasty on January 5 is a big deal and one of the biggest names, if not the biggest, we could have on the show is Kenny Omega. I thought that was really important.

Kenny has been influential in the relationship between New Japan and AEW since day one. Even the days where there was a Forbidden Door and nobody was going through, he was one of the guys trying to break that down.

For him, it’s a relationship that is very important, especially now that (Hiroshi) Tanahashi is the President. They have an interesting relationship and we saw a month ago where they released a cool video where Kenny came back to Japan and talked about the future and past issues between them both. They are two guys that completely see professional wrestling in two completely different ways, and that was part of their story when they wrestled.

Overall, it’s interesting, and I don’t think it takes away from Kenny coming back to AEW. It just makes the question even bigger of when he’ll come back to AEW.”

Kenny Omega’s last match was in December 2023. A return to the ring hasn’t been officially announced in terms of a date, but there are indications that he is close to a return to in-ring action.