Major AEW Star Has Been Thinking About Retirement

A top AEW star has been in a reflective mood.

As 2023 came to an end, there were very real fears that Kenny Omega had wrestled his last match. After pushing through incredible pain to beat Ethan Page on Collision in early December, the NJPW legend was diagnosed with diverticulitis.

Although he initially hoped to avoid it, Omega later underwent surgery before admitting that his career hung in the balance.

However, on January 5, 2025, Omega returned to the ring at Dynasty in Japan to beat Gabe Kidd in a wild clash many dubbed an instant classic. In doing so, he proved that not only was his career not over, but he was still capable of performing at a remarkably high level.

AEW’s Kenny Omega Reflects On Gabe Kidd Battle

Kenny Omega recently sat down with Hiroshi Tanahashi for a new interview uploaded to NJPW WORLD, where he discussed his return to the ring. The AEW admitted that retirement has been on his mind, and he feels that the match with Kidd would have been a great way to bow out.

“Honestly, I’ve been thinking about retirement since my illness. Like, how would I want things to end. If my stomach was really bad, I think that Wrestle Dynasty Gabe Kidd match honestly would have been a good end. But I won, and I was happy with the performance. It would have been a good last match, but I felt I could still go, so it’ll be a little while yet (before I retire).”

Tanahashi said that the match was an incredibly emotional moment for him, adding that he was “really moved” and “cried a little.”

After exploding back onto the scene earlier in the year, Omega has been used more sparingly since Double or Nothing in May. He’s wrestled just six times since then, and only three times since competing in the Lights Out Steel Cage Match at Forbidden Door on August 24.

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H/t to Fightful