AEW: Why it’s time for Kenny Omega to win the world championship

Kenny Omega should take the AEW World Championship from Jon Moxley.

AEW displayed their storytelling excellence this past weekend with their Full Gear event. Notably, we saw Kenny Omega take on his former tag partner and Elite cohort Hangman Page in the final of the AEW World Title eliminator tournament. Omega went on to overcome Hangman with the One-Winged Angel in the show’s opener.

Although the match itself was really good, it was the consequences that fans were more eager for. Thanks to the win over his former partner, Omega is now destined to face AEW World Champion, Jon Moxley. Full Gear had come full circle.

For a greater appreciation of what Moxley vs. Omega means, we have to cast our minds back to Full Gear 2019. The main event of the show saw the former WWE and NJPW champions clash in an Unsanctioned match. The match saw the company receive a fine from the Maryland Athletic Commission thanks to the extreme nature of the battle.

This match showed the brutal nature of Moxley as a contender, an R-rated iteration of the former Dean Ambrose. Willing to put himself through hell and dragging his rival with him, this was the match that truly announced Moxley to All Elite Wrestling, and announced All Elite Wrestling to the world.

Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega have taken very different paths in AEW

Moxley made sure to utilise the momentum from this win to carry on and take the world title from Chris Jericho, Moxley had ascended to become the top star in the promotion, and cemented his legacy as a top name in the wrestling world.

He has lived the moniker of fighting champion, battling names like Brodie Lee, Brian Cage, and Eddie Kingston among others in more brutal battles. It wasn’t just in AEW that Moxley rose to stardom either, in New Japan he has taken the IWGP US belt and made that his own, becoming the longest-reigning champion in the process, surpassing Kenny Omega of all names in August.

But what of Omega? What trajectory did his loss at Full Gear send him on? Beaten and bruised, he appeared a shadow of the superstar who tore up New Japan against Okada and racked up the star ratings. He was even unable to return to action on the following Dynamite episode. Seemingly unable to push up the card, Omega became a tag team wrestler with Hangman Page in an attempt to remain close with his Elite friends.

Winning the tag straps from SCU on Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager and emerging victorious against the Inner circle in the ever-interesting Stadium Stampede did nothing to subside the tensions, however, and eventually they lost their titles to FTR at All Out. This marked the end of Omega and Page as a team, as Kenny vowed to focus on his now dwindling singles career with AEW.

It’s time for Jon Moxley’s great AEW Title reign to end

Now we find ourselves up to date, we see the stars have aligned and Omega will have another chance to redeem himself and avenge the unsanctioned loss, and Moxley has the chance to assert himself at the undisputed megastar in the promotion.

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But that raises the question, who should win?

The AEW world title despite being so young is so prestigious, only two men have ever held the strap. The legendary Chris Jericho and the superstar Jon Moxley, both with proven pedigree in world wrestling.

So far no one who hasn’t won a world title in other promotions has held the strap and this further cements how special and high regarded the championship is.

Removing Omega from the picture if you were asked who could be the rightful heir to the belt after Moxley, you would be hard-pressed to find a definitive answer. But the thing is, Omega is in the picture, and he is the man who takes the belt from Moxley.

Moxley has had a good run with the belt, although his challengers have been diverse and are impressive on their own merits, there has never been an opponent with the star power or the in-ring prowess that could take the belt off of Moxley and elevate the title.

As a result of this distinct lack of challenge, it has felt lately like Moxley has grown stale, and in need of an injection of a new narrative. His feud with Eddie Kingston was refreshing as this was the first time in a while we felt an emotional investment in the story between the two rivals. But even this hasn’t been enough to shake the feeling that the time to drop the strap has come.

Imagine the stories that could be told with Kenny Omega as AEW Champion

Then again we address Kenny Omega, having a name such as his and keeping him away from the world title for so long was bound to hurt his popularity, and cause his stardom to wane. Now he’s here, and it feels like a long time coming, if he doesn’t win the championship, then there’s no telling how much this could damage Omega.

As great as the current champ has been, we find ourselves at a point where it’s the end of the story of Moxley and the belt. And the return of Kenny Omega to the world stage. Except for Jericho, this is the first time we can look at the billing and see the challenger would make the belt and not the other way around. Someone who has won all accolades in their former promotion and is looking to add to their resume, this is the story of the AEW belt, a championship for champions and global megastars.

Beyond the story of Moxley and Omega, there is the promise of what Omega as champion could bring. The one that stands out the most is the heart-wrenching battle against former Elite brethren Hangman Page, but look further and you can see a rematch with PAC. And since we’re in dream match territory, cross-promotion battles with Golden Lovers partner Kota Ibushi or Six-Star rival Kazuchika Okada could add to the prestige of the belt.

Jon Moxley vs Kenny Omega is the turning point in a new chapter for All Elite Wrestling, and a new chapter needs a new main character.

Enter the Cleaner.