Kenny Omega says his recent matches were a wake-up call, as he realized that he's not quite 100% yet.
Omega missed several months in the beginning of 2022, as he had multiple surgeries and focused on rehabbing nagging injuries. He returned in August as part of the AEW World Trios Championship tournament. The Elite (Omega and The Young Bucks) won the gold at AEW All Out, but they were subsequently suspended following a reported confrontation with CM Punk. They returned at AEW Full Gear 2022, and Omega competing in some taxing matches at the beginning of 2022. Omega battled IWGP United States Champion Will Ospreay at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 and clashed with Death Triangle (PAC and The Lucha Bros) in an Escalera de la Muerte on the January 11 episode of AEW Dynamite.
Speaking with Logan Moore of ComicBook, Omega commented on his health coming out of his recent string of hard-fought matches. He noted that the combination of the ladder match and his bout against Ospreay reminded him that he's not quote 100% again. Omega emphasized that he's proud of the matches, but it's going to take him some time to recover.
"I would say before the Best of Seven series and the Tokyo Dome I was feeling pretty good. After completing the Best of Seven Series, which culminated in a Ladder Match, and barely being removed from the match that I did with Will Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom, it was kind of a slap in the face from reality being like, 'Hey, don't go thinking you're 100% again. We just let you think that for a couple of weeks (laughs). This is your new 100% so get used to it, kid.' That was the crashing back down to reality moment for me. Like, okay, I did it. I survived. I'm really proud of this work, but oh boy, it's going to take a while to recover. It wasn't like a 'give me a 24-hour' kind of thing. It's been over a week and I'm still feeling it," Omega said.
Omega will be featured in the "Like a Dragon: Ishin" video game. More information is available here.
Rocky Romero discussed Omega's return to NJPW. Check out his comments here.
Click here to see Ronnie Platt's comments about The Elite using "Carry On Wayward Son" as their theme song.
Check out the card for this week's episode of AEW Dynamite here.
