Kenny Omega Admits In-Ring Style Had A ‘Very Short Shelf Life’

Former AEW World Champion Kenny Omega has opened up about sacrifices he’s made for wrestling, admitting that his style has a short life expectancy.

Speaking with CBC Arts, Omega recalled his time wrestling in Japan, noting that he developed an athletic style in order to get over. Explaining that he changed his aim to focus on becoming a great storyteller, Omega said:

“I recognised that we all break down. There’s a very short shelf life to this sort of style. You burn the candle at both ends, and all you have to look back at on your body of work is that you pushed yourself athletically, right? Maybe you can pop in a tape, a DVD, a file or whatever at some point in time, say, like, ‘Hey, guys, look, I used to do this back in the day.’ But for me, that wasn’t enough. I was dedicating everything to it.

“I had lost a lot in my personal life to wrestling. I wanted to make these connections both with the fans and my comrades (in) wrestling, right, my workmates. I didn’t want to do them a disservice by going through all of this mental preparation, this physical preparation, just to have a match that isn’t appreciated in the grand scheme of things.

“That was sort of the goal for me as a performer. How can I mix everything that I’ve learned from the different styles that I know in wrestling, from the tapes that I studied, from the pop culture references, culture in general and media? How do I take all of these things and how do I become the best storyteller I can be?”

Omega is currently taking time away from the ring, and will reportedly undergo multiple surgeries for injuries he has been working through in recent years. Omega reportedly wanted to conclude his rivalry with Hangman Page before stepping away.

The AEW star was forced to relinquish his AAA Mega Championship after holding the gold for 765 days. At TripleMania Regia, Hijo del Vikingo won a five-way bout to win the vacant title.

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• Style
• Athletic
• Kenny Omega
• AEW

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