Now that Kenny Omega’s match with Jon Moxley at AEW Full Gear has officially happened, both men have been patched up and have likely moved on to other things; it’s time to take a closer look at what’s next for Kenny Omega.
While Moxley (3-1-1) added to his bad ass mystique during AEW’s last pay-per-view, Omega (6-4) still has questions left to answer. Having seemingly gotten out of his funk prior to ‘Full Gear’, Omega still looks and feels like he’s in limbo.
At least that’s what we’re interpreting from his mercurial demeanor on the last few episodes of Being the Elite.
We’re left with the sense that Omega is trying to reconnect with the Kenny who had a myriad of five-star matches with Kazuchika Okada at a time when All Elite Wrestling was a mere afterthought.
10 matches into the AEW chapter of his career and Kenny is still doing some soul-searching on American soil with his AAA Mega Championship win over Fenix being one of the lone highlights of his last few months in the squared circle.
It’s not like we haven’t had the opportunity to watch Omega in some absolute barnburners since Double or Nothing. He hasn’t lost a step in the ring, he’s unfortunately been unable to build up enough momentum to string any notable victories together.
At the time of this writing, Kenny successfully defended his AAA Mega Championship on the latest episode of AEW Dark against the high-flying Jack Evans. He’s also scheduled to face-off against PAC on Dynamite.
After coming out of a long-term program with Jon Moxley that started all the way back in May and ended in November, here’s our shortlist of three potential rivals for Omega heading into the New Year.
3. Sammy Guevara
In the spirit of continuing to raise the stakes for a potential ‘Match Beyond’ featuring the Elite and Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle, a potential program with Guevara for Omega would be a perfect way to get him back into the winner’s column while showcasing yet another one of AEW’s talented crop of young wrestlers.
Guevara works great because his Inner Circle compatriots Santana and Ortiz have already clashed with The Young Bucks and AEW would just continue that narrative with ‘The Cleaner’ facing off against ‘The Spanish God’.
Perhaps there could be room for Guevara to actively seek out the Winnipeg native in a series of promos where he tries to convince ‘The Cleaner’ he’ll never reach the same heights in the United States as he did in Japan.
Guevara spewing this type of rhetoric makes it that much more believable and adds the proverbial fuel to Kenny Omega’s fire. That said, this would make for a highly entertaining match in the ring as well, assuming the AEW brass sets it up the right way.
Tack on a potential defense of Omega’s AAA Title and you have the makings of a cross-promotional storyline which would bring eyes to both products.
2. Shawn Spears
Following a ceasefire in the war with Chris Jericho which started way back at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in New Japan, it might be time for Omega to target another fellow Canadian and WWE alum in ‘The Chairman’ Shawn Spears.
Look, I originally had Kip Sabian on this list, but felt like having one up-and-comer in Guevara was more than enough. Spears moved his way up on my Omega pecking order after his brilliant AEW Dark commentary during Kenny’s match with Jack Evans which saw him picking Evans as his winner, badmouthing the Canadian prairies and exuding that ‘Perfect 10’ charisma we had clearly forgotten about.
Spears hasn’t really been given a fair shake since ending his storyline with Cody Rhodes at All Out and having a long-term rivalry with Omega might be just what both men need. While Kenny would clearly come out on top of this one, it would do wonders for Spears’ stock.
Especially considering his recent spats with Joey Janela have been flying way under the radar–at least in my humble opinion.
On Kenny’s side, this pits him against another well-known face to the North American professional wrestling market and – like the Guevara example – could be built up relatively well if we can get Spears behind a microphone talking crap about Winnipeg.
1. Rey Fenix
Yes, I’m well aware the Lucha Brothers are friggin‘ awesome and are one of the hottest teams in professional wrestling today.
I’m not looking to split those two apart by any means.
In the event Christopher Daniels wants to exact revenge on Pentagon for dropping him on his head a few weeks ago and costing him his spot in the tag title tournament, a Fenix vs. Omega storyline could make for an incredible match.
We should first consider the fact Omega defeated Fenix for his AAA Mega Championship a few weeks ago. A rematch alone would make for a great reason for a fight and, most importantly, a buildup of any kind.
What we’re envisioning with a tilt against one half of the Lucha Brothers is Omega being pushed to his limit by one of the most dynamic workers in the business.
For those of you who seem to forget what his singles matches look like, have a gander at the highlights from his match with Nick Jackson from last week’s episode of Dynamite.
Again, the end of Fenix’s match with Nick Jackson hints at another potential face-off with The Young Bucks down the line but there’s nothing set in stone for the time being.
Fenix and Omega – as they did for AAA – would electrify the crowd with high spots, hard hits and innovative offense on both sides. Just like any sportsman or sports team trying to get out of a slump, sometimes you need the right type of competition to find the right type of motivation.
And that’s exactly what Fenix can provide Kenny Omega.