NJPW star Kenny Omega is gearing up for his mega-fight with WWE legend Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 12 and sat down with Sports Illustrated to talk.
Omega is ready for his clash with Jericho.
“I really want this match to be a wake-up call to New Japan and WWE” Omega said.
“This match is going to open up a lot of eyes, and it’s going to invoke a feeling you’ve never felt when watching a wrestling match. It’s a clash of unique worlds, and the match we’re going to show with aggression, violence, and disdain is going to evoke a new kind of emotion from people watching.”
Omega also shared his thoughts on Shinsuke Nakamura’s run with WWE.
“I’m happy for the response that he’s getting, of course, and all of us in New Japan knew when he left that he was going to get over with his charisma. But when I see Nakamura in WWE, it’s hard for me to say he’s done anything compelling in-ring since he’s been there, which is a shame. It will just take the one right story and the one right moment and then people will be captivated by everything that he does. Right now, he hasn’t had that.”
“Even to another degree, everything in WWE is super over-booked. Some people in WWE even need the steps and their footing in the ring choreographed. They have to pace their breathing before they even go through with a match in the ring. When you’re used to dealing with people who need that match management, who need to have that much choreography in their matches before they go out there and perform, then when a guy like Nakamura–who is this new age ‘strong style,’ and a lot of that is based off emotion and feeling and fighting spirit–wrestles someone who needs marks on the ring so that he can get his footing right with a set of instructions, that’s where Nakamura’s style gets lost in translation. Everything starts to come across as soulless, if that makes any sense.”
