Kenny Omega “Open-Minded” About WWE Switch
Former AEW World Champion Kenny Omega is reportedly remaining “open-minded” about walking through the most forbidden of wrestling’s doors and joining WWE.
During his AEW career that started in early 2019 when the company launched, Kenny Omega was introduced as an Executive Vice President in the company along with the Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) and Cody Rhodes, who left AEW in 2022 after three years to return to WWE.
In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer wrote that Omega’s contract was going to expire at the start of 2023, but it has been extended since he missed nearly a full year of action from late 2021 into 2022.
“The free agent reference in last week’s issue of the key guy WWE was looking at led to conjecture regarding Kenny Omega, which has been a name heavily talked about in certain circles in WWE and other places in wrestling as well. Omega’s AEW contract date was to have expired at the end of January as he had a four-year deal with no option clause to add time that started on February 1, 2019.
“His contract does allow AEW to extend it for the time he was out injured, which has happened. He was out nine months so that would be a maximum of November, but the extended time frame hasn’t been finalized as far as how long.”
Now PWTorch’s Wade Keller has followed up by noting that WWE is aware that Kenny Omega is open-minded about a switch to the company in the future:
“I haven’t independently verified rumors of WWE being interested in Omega. I have confirmed they’re aware of Omega’s open-mindedness to come to WWE. That’s what I’ve been told. That he’s open-minded to landing in WWE before his career is over.
“The attitude is not ‘I love AEW, I’m gonna stay here forever.’ That is not apparently the belief within WWE. They don’t believe that’s Kenny’s mindset at this point.”
Keller then followed up with his opinion that if Kenny Omega does go to WWE, he won’t necessarily be put on the same path as Cody Rhodes who is set to main event WrestleMania 39 just one year after re-joining the company:
“Omega is valued within WWE from what I can ascertain by people whose opinions count. But he is not seen at this stage as a wrestler who is so good in the ring that they are just gonna do anything to get him. I think that they are very happy with their roster. I think that they have a lot of great wrestlers who are at Kenny’s level. Kenny would be a good addition.
“I know there is curiosity and intrigue about what they could do with him if they were able to direct him a little bit better because his character work in 3+ years of Dynamite has not been particularly compelling…
“In terms of being a weekly TV series character, that’s something that WWE would be, I think, excited to explore creatively with him. But I don’t think he would come in and be seen as a guy who they are just gonna track to headline WrestleMania like Cody has gotten.”
h/t WrestlingNews.co