Kenny Omega recently spoke to Jay Onrait on TSN ahead of this weekend’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door II pay-per-view event in Toronto. The event takes place on June 25 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Omega will defend the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship against Will Ospreay at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door II.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On why he decided to go back to NJPW earlier in January: “I felt there were pieces of unfinished business. I sort of left the company in a state of needing people to fill my shows. I had assumed a lot of responsibility within that promotion. I had pretty much wrestled in most, if not all, of the big matches on my way out of the door with New Japan, and I knew that if I had left, the last thing I would want was for the company to be in a bad position with someone not ready to assume that main event role. And I thought that I had two likely candidates that could hold the reins, keep the fort together, and put forth a very unique but New Japan-worthy effort in ‘Switchblade’ [Jay White] and Will Ospreay. And yes, for someone who made Japan my home and for something that was so important to me, being New Japan, I had kind of always kept up with the things while I was doing AEW. I just sort of felt like they weren’t doing enough. They weren’t doing enough. They maybe needed a trial by fire to see by example one more time to see what it is that I’m asking them, what is required from them to be the face of a company, to be the driving force behind the company.”
Omega on Will Ospreay: “It just so happens that I won the belt, and things are back in control as if it’s 2018 all over again. So, I think Will Ospreay, who has certainly learned a lot, grown a lot, he’s developed a lot, he’s coming in for blood. He wants revenge, and this time it’s going to be on my home soil, Canadian soil. So you’re going to be seeing a little bit of taste of Japan, my second home, and we’re going to be fighting in my first home, Canada, and I think it’s going to be something very special for fans that haven’t had a chance to see either of us perform live for a very long time.”
Kenny Omega on Ospreay not liking Canada: “Yeah, I really don’t understand his beef with Canada. Perhaps it’s more Canadian people, and I think every country has some despicable people living within it. Sure, maybe I’m one of them. Maybe I’m one of them. Perhaps the business has clouded my soul a little bit dark in my heart. I’m
not sure .I’m just here being me, but what’s most important about all that is I still believe deep down that I’m probably the best wrestler and best representative on a worldwide scale for professional wrestling. So, love me or not, hate me or not, I’m The Benchmark. I know that. I’m The Benchmark, so Will has to step up his game, and he has to show something much different than what he showed at the Tokyo Dome because now we’re in Canada. And now, this is probably going to be his last chance to win his belt back, and if he doesn’t, I really have no obligation to go back to Japan either, as much as I’d like to. So they just may lose one of their most prized possessions for an undisclosed amount of time, so it’s a very big match for Will.”
