Will Ospreay discusses his rivalry with Kenny Omega.
Ospreay and Omega have been rivals for years, as they have traded verbal barbs time and again. Omega used to be one of NJPW's top stars before he left the promotion in 2019, and Ospreay has risen to the forefront in his absence, leading to some natural tension. Plus, both men are constantly featured in the discussion about the best wrestler in the world. Their feud reached another level in 2022, as they finally faced each other; they waged war during the AEW World Trios Championship Tournament. Omega later appeared at NJPW x STARDOM Historic X-Over and announced that he'd be returning to NJPW and challenging Ospreay for the IWGP United States Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 17.
In an interview with Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, Ospreay went into detail about his feud with Omega by first discussing the way they have traded shots several times. He stated that plenty of people come at him and tweet about him, but none of them do anything about it. Ospreay emphasized that, in Omega's case, he needed to be punched in the mouth and reminded that he's not above anybody, and that's exactly what he intends to do.
"It’s typical Kenny. He oversteps sometimes and kind of puts his foot in his mouth. I guess that happens with me as well, so I can’t really be that mad, but if you’re going to put my name in your mouth, be prepared for me to respond. I went to town on him and embarrassed him in front of all of his little Stan accounts. That’s the thing, all those guys, they’re all tweeting and they’ll all come at me, but they’re not going to do anything. You don’t know where I live or anything. It’s a fun bit, you guys all know where I’m going to be. Kenny is an egomaniac. He’s a knobhead and thinks he knows everything. Sometimes he’s got to be punched in the mouth and reminded that he’s not above anybody, he is who he is. He’s some bloke that was really good at wrestling. I’m not going to deny his ability or talent, but be all and end all, you’re a knobhead that can be beat," Ospreay said.
Ospreay also addressed the way Omega has taken shots at him. He noted that he personally likes to throw his name into conversations regarding the best in the world, but the category is subjective, as it depends on the style of wrestling one prefers. Ospreay stated that he puts himself in different situations and delivers every time. He pointed out that he steals the show in NJPW, and he also proves himself when he faces AEW guys and independent wrestlers. He emphasized that it's easy to be put on great matches when you're in the spotlight with a platform like AEW, but being the best in the world means you have to travel the glove and prove it.
"It’s about him trying to take a shot. There is always that category of the best in the world and I always like to throw my name in there, but it is always subjective to the fans. It’s different in comparison to what style of wrestling that you enjoy. For me, being the best in the world is consistently putting yourself in different situations and different opponents that aren’t located all in one promotion. I like to test myself against all the AEW guys, I think I’ve wrestled there eight times and I’ve stole the show in all of them, which says everything. Then you go New Japan, I always steal the show there. Any of these, what he says, ‘no name Indie guys,’ I test myself against those guys and they automatically become better. My whole thing is, to be the best in the world, you have to travel to each continent and prove it. It’s easy to do it on the bright lights and big arena, but consistently putting in those five-star matches, if you want to go down that road, and always being able to shine and being able to say that you’re the best in the world by consistently doing that, that’s the harder job. Kenny has never done that," he said.
"The Commonwealth Kingpin" continued by stating that Omega is one of the biggest stars in wrestling, and he admitted that he was inspired by Omega's first Wrestle Kingdom match. He made it clear that he knows he can't change Omega's opinion about him, but when they clash at Wrestle Kingdom, they're going to find out who the better wrestler is, at least from an in-ring standpoint. Once the bell rings, Ospreay declared that there won't be any excuses anymore.
"That’s his opinion. I can never combat...Kenny is one of the biggest stars in wrestling. We all paid attention to the Golden Era in New Japan. I was there for his first Wrestle Kingdom and I was inspired by that. I’m never going to be able to change his opinion or if he thinks he’s better than me. The only thing that will happen is, when January rocks around, we’re going to see who the better wrestler is. In terms of performances, it’s all subjective. In terms of in-ring, we’re going to find out. It’s going to be your best against my best and there’s going to be no excuses anymore. It’s going to be two of the greatest wrestlers that have ever lived right now, I would happily say that my run in 2022 has been an all-timer, now going against the guy, and it’s oddly poetic that it is going to happen in the Tokyo Dome where, I personally believe, that’s the hype of Kenny. The G1 was cool but when he had that match with Okada in the main event of the G1, that’s when I believed the hype and I believe a lot of others would agree with me on that. Now, to do it in the venue that made you famous, the lights are on bright. How lucky is he that he’s actually going to have a full vocal range of fans. That’s the bit that’s going to interest me more than anything. There is going to be a side that is so happy to see Kenny back and another side that is for me because I’ve been there and have seen it through the all dark ages, the horrible stuff we’ve put up through. Not just the wrestling, it’s the flying to Japan, isolating in the rooms that were no bigger than a wrestling ring, the mental strain of being away from families for months. I’ve done that battle and have been there and done it. I don’t know the language, he’s constantly said it, I try my best, I can barely speak English, let alone Japanese. There is that side, but I don’t need to know the language to beat you. All I have to do is learn how to count to three," Ospreay said.
As with many major rivalries, there are plenty of clear parallels between Ospreay and Omega. The NJPW star discussed these similarities but also emphasized their differences. He noted that Omega embraced Japanese culture, whereas he personally leaned into the professional wrestling side. Ospreay noted that his first memory of Omega was seeing him wrestle sex dolls and nine-year-olds, so no one could have predicted that he would grow into what he has become.
"I do feel like we’re in similar situations entirely, the only thing that differentiates it is that he kind of embraced the Japanese culture. While I respect that, it was a case of, I’m here to wrestle and embrace the professional wrestling side and working side of things. That’s where we differentiate ourselves a little bit. For me, when I wrestled Kenny in PWG, my memory was him wrestling sex dolls and nine-year-old girls. For him to grow from that into what he’s become, no one would have been able to tell you after he attacked AJ Styles that’s what he was going to become, but he believed that. As long as he believed it, that’s what mattered. I believe, currently, right now, that no one in the world can touch me. I mean in WWE, AEW, NOAH, DDT, All Japan. No one has the pacing I do, no one has the ability to get up and go the way I do, and I think Kenny is slightly threatened by that because the bright lights of AEW have hid what has gone around in New Japan. He’s been so busy with AEW, and the moment he gets suspended, these lights of AEW shut off and he now sees the shadow looming. He knows the shadow, if it gets any bigger, can overthrow him. He needs to comeback right now because if it gets too big, no one is going to stop me," Ospreay said.
Omega recently stated that, without him, NJPW lacked charisma, magic, and eyeballs watching. Check out his comments here.
In a recent interview with Fightful, Jay White discussed his match with Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 17. Click here to see what he had to say.
Check out the updated card for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 here.
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 will air on NJPW World on January 4. Fightful will have coverage of the show as it airs.
