In a recent interview with Uproxx, Kenny Omega remembered taking a Tiger Driver ’91 from Will Ospreay at the AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door II pay-per-view event, which he said he wouldn’t do if he didn’t trust himself.
Omega lost the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship to Ospreay at AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door II.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On taking the Tiger Driver ’91: “That’s what I do. There were a number of things that were designed to elicit a response from people, whether it be positive or negative. But I wanted to take people on an emotional rollercoaster. Hopefully it leaves fans questioning is he okay? It’s all about the match. We’re battling in that ring and I want you to go along for the ride with us. If they thought everything else in that match was just the worst sh*t they’ve ever seen in their life, but that one moment, got them for a second, ‘He’s not going to kick out, he’s not going to get up, they better get the gurney, call in the f**king airlift,’ that’s perfect. And if I had a whole match of those types of reactions, even better. It’s all part of my job, it’s all part of my profession. These are things that I take a lot of pride in and I think that’s why when I went into this match, there’s a lot of physical and mental preparation that goes into it because I was really preparing myself to wow the crowd to this kind of level.”
On those who criticize the spot: “People that wanted to sh*t on something or people that want to frown upon something, or for people that want to say, ‘Well, if it were me, I wouldn’t have done that.’ I didn’t get to where I was by being able to do things that everyone else could do. I realized, and I recognized that I do have special talents that maybe not everyone else can do. Without revealing too much, I think a lot about my health. I think a lot about life after wrestling. I think a lot about my current life. I think about next week’s Dynamite and the week after that. I would never do something I didn’t trust myself in performing 100 percent.”
On more additions to AEW Fight Forever: “There is always going to be additions to this game. You haven’t seen anything yet. You’ve seen a little bit, but you haven’t seen a lot of things that I’m very excited for. There’s something in particular coming up that, it’s sort of been leaked a little bit, so the Stadium Stampede mode I’m very excited for and I think people are going to have a lot of fun. It’s something so incredibly unique and I think it’s going to be great. The roster, we’re going to add bodies to the roster as well. Custom parts for create a wrestler, all that stuff. I can’t wait to share more announcements with people and to see more of the roster, more match types and see the videos turn up online for how people are enjoying it.”