Kenny Omega took the wrestling world by storm in 2016. As a member of the Bullet Club in New Japan Pro Wrestling, he had a banner year. Omega jumped to the heavyweight division, took out AJ Styles, beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, and won the G1 Climax. He continued to ascend with a classic series of matches against Kazuchika Okada.
Currently, Omega is one of the biggest stars in All Elite Wrestling. But many fans may not realize how long his career has spanned. Omega has been competing since early 2000. Throughout his two-decade career, Omega has faced some of the best wrestlers in the world. You know the obvious opponents but here are some you probably had no clue about.
10 Will Ospreay
While Kenny Omega was the hot new thing among wrestling fans in 2016, Will Ospreay holds that crown in 2019. Like Omega, Ospreay is a multi-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion who has shown flashes of moving up to battle heavyweights. Their similarities are obvious even if their styles are quite different.
When Ospreay was working his way up through the indies, he came face to face with Omega. Still a few months from debuting in NJPW, Ospreay battled Omega in December of 2015. Their encounter took place at PWG's All-Star Weekend XI. Omega won and the match was met with universal acclaim. They would also go on to meet as part of a stellar tag match in New Japan at the tail end of 2018 also involving Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi.
9 Austin Aries
There was once a time when Austin Aries was a hot commodity in pro wrestling. He shined in Ring of Honor from 2004 until around 2009 before reaching the top of TNA in 2012. Aries' career has taken a hit as many companies find him difficult to work with. But during one of his hotter runs, he clashed with Kenny Omega.
This meeting came during Austin Aries' second reign as ROH World Champion. At a late 2009 show in Ontario, Aries put the title on the line against Kenny. The show was even called The Omega Effect. Alas, it wasn't Omega's night.
8 Kevin Owens
If you want to find unique matches that you never thought happened, look up PWG's annual Battle of Los Angeles tournament. Each year for over a decade, this tournament has pitted the biggest names on the independent wrestling scene against each other. Kenny Omega participated in more than a few of them.
On the first night of the 2009 Battle of Los Angeles, Omega found himself across from Kevin Steen. As most fans know, Steen went on to become WWE Superstar Kevin Owens. They'd also go on to work several tag matches, both as opponents and partners. Omega took this meeting and advanced in the tournament.
7 Roderick Strong
Kenny Omega's Battle of Los Angeles performance in 2009 takes us right into this entry. During that tournament, Roderick Strong also won every match and that put him in the finals against Omega. It was there that Omega won the tournament and earned the vacant PWG Championship.
That wasn't the only meeting between the two talented wrestlers. They faced off in PWG and ROH several times in 2009, as well as in a handful of tag matches. With Omega as a top star in AEW and Strong riding high in NXT, another match between them would be the stuff of dreams.
6 Ricochet
Look, it's another case of Kenny Omega facing someone during the Battle of Los Angeles. Surprisingly, there aren't more battles in history between Kenny Omega and Ricochet. Their styles seem to be a perfect match and they spent time together in both PWG and NJPW.
Their most notable outing came during the semi-finals of the 2014 BOLA. Ricochet bested Omega in about 20 minutes, in a contest filled with spectacular moves and dramatic close calls. Interestingly, they also worked as a team in 2013 to hype NJPW's Best of the Super Juniors.
5 Cesaro
Long before he was stealing the show as Cesaro, he was a key member of the Ring of Honor roster as Claudio Castagnoli. Shortly after he pulled off a villainous turn, Claudio looked to continue his momentum at the company's biggest show of the year. So at Final Battle 2008, Castagnoli opened the night against Kenny Omega.
Omega was still a relative newcomer to ROH. Nobody inside of the Hammerstein Ballroom gave him a chance. But Omega stunned everyone by pulling off the upset and beating Castagnoli. It was the biggest victory for Omega in ROH to that point. Claudio wouldn't even the score for another nine months.
4 Jushin Thunder Liger
Ask almost any wrestler about one of their dream opponents and they'll say Jushin Thunder Liger. The legendary 11-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion is an icon in Japanese wrestling. Countless current wrestlers look up to Liger. Surprisingly, Kenny Omega's match with Liger wasn't during his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title run.
But their match did occur at an NJPW event. It was just for the JAPW (Jersey All-Pro Wrestling) Light Heavyweight Championship. As part of NJPW's Invasion Tour in 2013, they held this match in Philadelphia where Omega managed to win the title from Liger. Other than this, the two participated in a handful of tag matches.
3 Finn Balor
It's only fitting that two former leaders of the Bullet Club were once foes. But this was before either man was a successful part of that stable. We're going way back to September 3, 2010. On that night, Prince Devitt (Balor's name before WWE) successfully defended his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title against Omega in the main event inside the hallowed Korakuen Hall.
A month later, Omega teamed with Kota Ibushi to beat Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi for the Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles. The duos traded the titles and Devitt picked up another win over Omega during the 2011 Best of the Super Juniors. Their final encounter came in the semi-finals of that tournament in 2013 when Devitt won again. It would've been cool to see them meet when both were at their best though.
2 Daniel Bryan
If you competed on the independent wrestling scene during the 2000s, there's a good chance you wrestled Daniel Bryan, then known by his real name Bryan Danielson. He was the measuring stick everywhere he went. That was especially true in Ring of Honor. During just Omega's second weekend with ROH, he faced Bryan and Tyler Black (Seth Rollins) in a three-way match.
That's just the kind of contest worth going back to watch. Three of the biggest names in wrestling squaring off before they became household names. Omega and Bryan also met in a Triple Threat match with Claudio Castagnoli. Their singles bout came at PWG One Hundred in 2009, which Danielson won.
1 AJ Styles
It's the match people name when they come up with their dream AEW vs. WWE cards. The history is there. AJ Styles led the Bullet Club when Kenny Omega was brought in. On January 5, 2016, Omega turned on Styles and took over as the leader after leading the attack on Styles.
This is the most obscure meeting on the list. AJ Styles and Kenny Omega wrestled way back in 2006 at PCW's Back to School Bash. It closed out that show and Omega came out on top despite Styles being a much bigger star. Omega discussed this match on the Talk is Jericho podcast, citing it as the match that kept him in the wrestling business after contemplating a career in MMA.