Kenny Omega would’ve been the talk of the pro wrestling world after his instant classic against Kazuchika Okada at the Tokyo Dome regardless of what he did going forward.
But following two tweets where he claimed to be “stepping away from Japan” to reassess his future, speculation over what’s next for Omega has only increased since the immediate fallout of the Wrestle Kingdom 11 main event.
That speculation grew when John Cena posted a picture of Omega on his Instagram account yesterday. And Cena again seemed to mention Omega on that platform today, while also following him on Twitter.
Omega further elaborated on his future in interviews with Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso and Tokyo Sports (thanks to a translation from Chris Charlton). In the SI interview, Omega addressed what’s next for him in wrestling.
“I’m leaving to consider my future options,” Omega said. “Returning so quickly after a huge loss would be unwise. I’m finding my next plan of attack in wrestling rather than blindly rushing forward just to be in a ring.”
Omega also seemed to share a mutual admiration with Cena.
“John Cena is one of the great WWE talents that I respect most,” said Omega. “If I were to end up there, working with someone of his caliber would certainly be a goal and jive with my mission of changing wrestling. I’m glad to be on his radar, but I haven’t made any decisions regarding my future yet.”
While closing the interview, Omega claimed that he hasn’t yet signed a new contract with any promotion.
“I fear that everyone has taken my words too literally,” Omega said. “Yes, I’m out of the country and off of shows, but I haven’t signed any new contracts yet. After such a huge loss, I didn’t want to just hang around and take part in meaningless matches. I’m only interested in changing the business, so I’m thinking carefully about what’s next.”
No matter what’s to come for Omega, all of his comments have seemed to be layered in kayfabe. That was true for the Tokyo Sports interview as well, where Omega noted that he has to rethink things after his Dome loss and said that he would be taking time off from NJPW.
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed Omega’s situation on Sunday night’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer said that he’s been told by a number of people that Omega is under contract with NJPW and would be returning to the company in March, but didn’t think Cena’s social media antics were done without purpose.
If Omega hasn’t renewed with NJPW, his original deal with the company had been set to expire at the end of this month.