Kenny Omega is excited about possibly being able to tell stories in the ring with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk.
Joining Wrestling Observer Radio (clip also seen below), the AEW World Champion was asked about the recent reports of Punk and Bryan joining the company, admitting that he has heard the rumblings. He went on to compliment both men for their intelligence and said that they became legends in a system that wasn't created for them to succeed in.
"I mean, like you said, they're two very different athletes," Omega began by saying. "Two very different performers. I respect both of them very -- well, similar, but also in very different ways. I mean, Danielson -- I still call him Bryan Danielson. Daniel Bryan, I always knew that he was incredibly intelligent. He's ridiculously smart, especially as it relates to professional wrestling. For him to create a movement, an actual legitimate movement with the YES movement -- For him to come up with that, he created it. There's absolutely no way, even if you found written documented evidence saying, 'We always planned to have your WrestleMania moment be champion,' I wouldn't believe it even if I saw it in front of my face. I don't think that was ever the plan. But, he made it the plan because he was that smart. He was able to turn everything around and emerge as a mega star because he is smart enough in a wrestling sense and a business sense -- Just like in ROH how he was able to have those fans in the palm of his hand, he's able to have the entire WWE Universe in the palm of his hand with one word. Really the only other person I can think of that maybe did that was Austin with the 'What?' There's really nobody else I can think of who had that much power with one word. Wrestling ability, of course, it's second to none. The most crisp, one of the most technically sound athletes to ever step foot in the ring, especially in the current age."
On July 21, Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net reported that Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) was "locked-in" and "100% signed a contract with AEW."
Earlier that same day, Fightful Select reported that CM Punk had been in talks to make a return to pro wrestling as an in-ring performer, with sources indicating that AEW is the most likely landing point.
"CM Punk, again, a guy who just has -- he probably has a different line of thinking than your current day performer, the average performer, and he has this incredible reputation -- He has fans to this day who would follow him to the end of the earth. Very dedicated fanbase. That fanbase believes that he is the best in the world and will be the best until the end of time. If you have people that follow your career so passionately, you probably have something very special about you. It just goes to show you that the way that he presented himself, the way that he spoke about himself, the way that he spoke to his opponents, how he performed in the ring, entrance music, his image, it was all very meticulous and he was very intelligent about how he went about it," Omega said.
The Belt Collector went on to say that is excited about the potential to tell a story with both men in an AEW ring. He said the following:
"Two extremely intelligent people who found a way to, I don't want to say cheat the system, but it was a system that was not created for them and they were able to break through every ceiling that was placed in front of them and emerge as actual legends that will never be forgotten.
It's cool for me to think that I'm going to be able to get in the ring with these two, possibly, but I think because they were so prominent in the WWE, and a lot of that is featured with segments, angles, character work, for me, pleading as the wrestling party, the ability to tell a story is more exciting to me."
Fightful will keep you updated should any additional information about the status of Punk and Bryan become available.
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