With rumors circulating that Kenny Omega might consider joining WWE for a match with AJ Styles, Omega fueled those rumors by saying he's leaving NJPW.
Yes, that's right... Kenny Omega is leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling. He announced the news during an interview with Tokyo Sports, where according to the translation by Chris Charlton, Omega is taking some time away from NJPW, possibly the wrestling industry altogether.
Omega said, “There is no real place for me to fit, so it’s best for me not to be in (NJPW). I can’t be there working under Tanahashi." These comments are likely a work related to his loss of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on January 4th to Tanahashi at WrestleKindom 13. He added, "If we can, I want to face him again. But I need time away, and not just from New Japan.”
So, the door is open to Omega returning, but the feeling seems to be that this is an opportunity for him to do something else and potentially return to NJPW down the road. How long that time away will be or where he's leaning to make his next run is unknown but many fans are hoping it's not longer than a couple weeks so that he can show up in WWE in time to face AJ Styles at WrestleMania.
Omega's contract with NJPW expires at the end of January. While there will be competing bids for his services once his obligations with that promotion expire — both WWE and All Elite Wrestling are rumored to want him to join them — Omega has said that the one thing that might get him to join WWE is the prospect of a match at WrestleMania with Styles.
What This Means
If Omega is leaving and if he's going to show up on a WWE program like Raw or SmackDown Live, this will be easily the biggest development of 2019 to date. Omega is one of the biggest stars in wrestling not a part of WWE and fans have been wanting him to join the company for years. He's always held off but the circumstances might finally be right to make the jump.