Kenny Omega Reacts To Will Ospreay Vacating IWGP Championship

AEW World Champion Kenny Omega has reacted to Will Ospreay vacating the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship due to injury.

Omega, a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion in his own right, seemingly stayed true to his heel persona and accused Ospreay of trying to fill his shoes, and claimed that’s why his reign was unsuccessful.

Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Omega said:

“Before I left New Japan, I pulled aside Ospreay and Jay White. I don’t even know if I should tell this story, but I will. I told both, ‘This company, at least the western expansion and the pride of the foreigners, it’s all in your hands. They’re going to look to you to carry this thing, so you’ve got to do it’. I said it to Jay and Ospreay knowing it was a likely scenario, but also hoping to light a fire under both of them.

“For Ospreay, he’d really came into his own. He made a complete career shift, and he was going to be a fantastic champion. He made changes to his body, he made changes to his style, his look, his demeanor. He became the person that he needed to be the champion of that company. Unfortunately, becoming champion wasn’t enough for him. He tried to fill my shoes.

“Physically, even though he is one of the most gifted performers to ever step foot in the ring, there is only one Kenny Omega – and you can’t fill those shoes. Thus, now his belt is vacant, so perhaps it was always meant to be my belt and my belt alone. That’s not me making a firm statement as to whether I’ll make a venture out there, just that there is no one there that can fill my shoes or override my legacy. When Ospreay comes back, he’ll have to re-analyze who he is and who he’s meant to be, because he’s not meant to be me.”

With Omega currently embarking on his “belt collector” mission, and the relationship we’ve seen between AEW and NJPW, the prospect of Omega at some point having a match for the IWGP Title seems fairly likely.

Unfortunately, unless some time passes, it won’t be against Ospreay, as he suffered a neck injury and has traveled back to the UK, vacating the title in the process.

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• NJPW
• Will Ospreay
• Kenny Omega
• AEW

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