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quicklistener2019-05-28 07:05 pm
cringekingsmashko) wrote in quicklistener2019-05-28 07:05 pm
Entry tags:
Wrestling Observer Radio
Disclaimer: This is just my rough notes to remind myself/others what was covered in this interview, it is NOT a transcript, please do not use it as a primary source.(excepting block quotes)
February 8th 2019
Wrestling Observer Radio - Kenny Omega Interview
Behind paywall. File available on request.
Just after the Double or Nothing announcement party
00:00
Intro chit chat.
Q. What is it about AEW that makes it the best place for you?
There wasn’t much left for Kenny to do in NJPW (apart from as part of the GL). Kenny felt like he needed to go somewhere he could do more. Japan will always be a part of his life but he wanted a new platform whether in AEW or WWE.
02:38
Q. How hard was the decision?
Considered staying full time with NJPW and being a lender talent for AEW. He gave a lot of his soul to NJPW, to walk away from that was difficult. But in the end it wasn’t the best option. It was actually the worst option
Q. Is there any reason why you would say that?
A number of reasons. For time investment/financial/creative reasons there were better of those in the other two options. They valued him but it felt like the other two companies were more excited to have him. He’s with his best friends, has some control over his own involvement.
Q. How big is the EVP role?
Kenny liked that AEW wanted to have a women’s division. Joshi wrestling brought Kenny back into wrestling. He wanted to help AEW recruit talent even when he wasn’t officially on board. He’s been in contact with the people he thinks are the best unsigned talent.
Q. Did you have a moment when you made your decision or was it twisting and turning and sleepless nights?
It was twisting and turning and sleepless nights. There was no clear cut winner in the negotiation phase. The most surprising thing was how cool it was to discuss things with WWE, he was willing to hear them out but he didn’t even expect them to be in the running. Kenny has a 4 year contract with AEW, it’s the longest contract he’s ever signed but it has a lot of crossover potential and it felt natural. He’s still going to be able to do the e-sports, the documentary stuff etc.
Q. You’ve seen the documentary?
He’s seen his cut. It was hard to watch it and enjoy it. He felt self-conscious but it did make him feel a bit emotional. He didn’t feel like it would give a lot of new information for fans.
[Break for Kenny phone call.]
He feels like an everyday person can enjoy it. That’s how he like his matches to be too so he’s happy with that. Wants to show the range of wrestling and how it can make people feel.
Q. Can you go to NJPW? Would you be excited to go?
Its specifically written in his contract that he can appear for NJPW whenever he wants. But obviously NJPW has to want him back too. He hopes the Tanahashi match wasn’t his last. AEW wants to work with everybody and they have a lot of ties to NJPW so the doors always open.
20:20
Q. How do you plan to strategize to get companies to work together with you and each other?
Those companies will get left behind if they can’t get over their rivalries. Kenny wants their doors to stay open so they can work with anyone as long as those companies are willing to work with them.
Q. Programme with Tanahashi. Battle of ideologies that was built on reality, lots of people thought it wouldn’t work but it did.
In the last wrestle kingdom Kenny and Jericho did a very old style feud but the Tanahashi one was something more untested. They were lucky to have been kept apart for so long. There had been hints Tana didn’t appreciate Kenny’s wrestling and that fueled the fire for their rivalry. As people they get along fine, but they can tell each other to their faces that they don’t like each other’s style of wrestling.
Kenny himself wasn’t impressed by the Tana vs Ibushi G1 final but he could step back and see that it worked for the crowd and created an amazing atmosphere. So when Tana wanted to make the feud into the ideological battle Kenny thought it would be an interesting story. Some trolls on the internet thought it sucked but other people actually got really invested and sent him hate messages etc. Kenny knew he was on the way out. He didn’t want the crowd to be split.
27:30
Dave liked the spot where Tana realized, he had to stoop to Kenny’s level to win the match.
Kenny confirms that was the story they were trying to tell. As much as their ideas clashed it made for an interesting discussion while planning. They managed to show their strengths and pick the best of both their styles. Kenny says its one of his career highlights. He loved the match, his video package, he loved how invested the people were. He had to blur the lines to get those people invested and have them turn on him. It felt real, his fans turning on him, but it was a necessary evil because he was leaving the company and he wanted to leave the fans with Tanahashi.
Q. Kota Ibushi, do you expect to bring him in to AEW?
33:08
Q. This is going to be weekly television, do you have a lot of ideas on what you want to do?
Yeah, they have a lot of ideas Kenny is excited for. Kenny and the Bucks love writing stuff for other people.
They talk about Nyla Rose, how Kenny met her + became aware of her in the AKB48 television drama + live shows. Kenny is excited for people to see the Joshi stars.
Q. OWE guys.
Kenny’s watched their full shows on YouTube but the first thing he saw was gifs on twitter. They are proper monks. It’s another fresh perspective. Dragon gate was a great place to develop talent. Cima is a good trainer.
Q. The show is probably gonna sell out now, it’s a big draw for a new company. Kenny’s stardom comes from Japan.
The internet has allowed people to see worldwide talent. It makes Kenny less nervous. A lot of hardcore wrestling fans watch everything
42:40
Q. What are his goals for 2019?
Gaming stuff. He needs to get back in shape. Looking forward to crossover with gaming even more than last year with the new day etc. You don’t need to compete; you can merge worlds. It’s a natural fit for Kenny. He’s also writing a children’s book.
Q. Gaming as an active passion. What is it about it that inspires him?
It molded who Kenny is. He used to do video game inspired moves + still names moves after games and stuff. Gaming can be a full-time job now. Gaming and wrestling are similar in a way, they start as a hobby and it’s the dream to make it your livelihood. There’s a common ground between wrestling and gaming. Stigma around wrestling and gaming is changing. More people are accepting wrestling for the art that it is, not just dismissing it as fake fighting.
Q. Kenny used to do MMA
Kenny’s pharmacist knew he was trying to get into wrestling and tried to get him into MMA instead. The guy gave him tapes and he fell in love with Sakuraba + pride and started training in Jiu Jitsu.
When he came back from developmental, he trained more and started to complete. He got silver and was heartbroken when he got choked out by a power lifter because he really thought he was going to win. But losing made him work harder. At 6 months he got double gold. He started trying to test himself more.
Eventually he was at a crossroads and had to choose. He hated weight cutting. Had cyanonsis after the competition when he won. He looked terrible like he was gonna die. He liked the winning but even when he was fighting, he wanted to perform. He didn’t like UFC like he liked pride. Then the match with AJ got him back into wrestling. He was able to keep up with AJ and they were able to do stuff together.
56:14
Q. How did you get hooked up to DDT as a full timer?
After the AJ match he decided to get back into the American indies. Kevin Mathews invited him over to try and get him into Jersey All Pro. He worked some smaller shows and Loki spoke up for him. Wrestled Danny Demonto and from then on JAPW was willing to bring him out for more shows. Loki got injured and had to drop the belt and chose to drop it to Kenny.
A Japanese couple was at the show and they ran a website that recapped north east independent wrestling for the Japanese audience. He did an interview with him where he mentioned the Japanese indies he watched including DDT and K-dojo.
He wanted to work with the small indies. He emailed Taka but Taka didn’t really get back to him. Matsui the ref from DDT contacted the couple and arranged for Kenny to come over.
1:00:00
Q. When did he take up residence in Japan?
Officially it’s been three years. But Kenny had his first breakthrough in around 2010-11ish, by then he was spending the majority of the year there. Kenny loves Japan.
Q. Does he feel like he has to top his previous matches?
He tries to keep a certain critical fan perception out of his mind. He doesn’t worry about botches, it’s part of the performance. He would rather try new things that don’t necessarily work then do the same thing over and over. There were mixed responses to the 3-way but he’s proud of having tried it rather than stick exactly to the New Japan big match formula. Tana match was double pressure because they had to pull the big guns out as well as try something new.
Q. How much pressure did he put on himself for the Kota match?
That was a unique situation. Kenny didn’t see it as a be all end all match, it was a taste of things to come. The pressure was sort of off because they’d already sold out the Budokan and Tana vs Okada had only sold 60%. New Japan didn’t like the image that the two guys from the indies were outselling their home-grown talent. This was perfect in Kenny’s mind because he wanted Kota for MSG or Tokyo dome. Also Ibushi had to come back the next day against Tana, so they saved the big match for the big show.
Things didn’t go the way Kenny thought. They didn’t get behind Kenny and Kota’s story the way he hoped and now Kenny is going to do the AEW thing. But the promise is still alive.
Q. Maybe AEW will do a stadium show someday and Ibushi vs Kenny would be a big match for that.
Kenny agrees, says there’s even more fresh match ups for Ibushi in AEW than himself. He wants to see Ibushi against people against AEW. He wants to do more GL tag matches against fresh opponents.
February 8th 2019
Wrestling Observer Radio - Kenny Omega Interview
Behind paywall. File available on request.
Just after the Double or Nothing announcement party
00:00
Intro chit chat.
Q. What is it about AEW that makes it the best place for you?
There wasn’t much left for Kenny to do in NJPW (apart from as part of the GL). Kenny felt like he needed to go somewhere he could do more. Japan will always be a part of his life but he wanted a new platform whether in AEW or WWE.
02:38
Q. How hard was the decision?
Considered staying full time with NJPW and being a lender talent for AEW. He gave a lot of his soul to NJPW, to walk away from that was difficult. But in the end it wasn’t the best option. It was actually the worst option
Q. Is there any reason why you would say that?
A number of reasons. For time investment/financial/creative reasons there were better of those in the other two options. They valued him but it felt like the other two companies were more excited to have him. He’s with his best friends, has some control over his own involvement.
Kenny:“I always like challenges and I like the prospect of this being a blundering failure…”
Dave:“Cos this is a risk”
Kenny:“It is”
Dave:“WWE’s not a risk"
Kenny:“It’s absolutely not a risk and part of me was like man, do I maybe wanna shut my brain off and have have people write stuff for me? Tell me what to do? It sounds kinda cool actually. You know what I mean?
Dave:[laughs]“I don’t know about that.”
Kenny:“But ..no no no cos like, in New Japan right I might get creative and I try to think of... okay I’ve been handed a basket full of lemons how do I turn this into lemonade? So I stay up late at night I lose sleep, maybe I’ll get physically ill or something you know? Because I’m trying to find a way to tell the story I know can be told from something that maybe didn’t have a lot of thought put in on their creative end. So mentally I was very tired by the time Tokyo dome rolled around as much as I was physically.
It was almost like there were two opposite ends of the spectrum. Do I have people who really want me and want to use me to the best of my potential but they kinda wanna dictate what I do. You know, there’s nothing wrong with that. Or do they kinda want Kenny Omega unleashed in AEW where it’s like, here’s carte blanche, we just want you and whatever made you special and whatever makes you you that’s what we want and you kind of have a little bit of control over what you do and uh guess what all your best friends in the business are here too?
So it’s like… both are still appealing you know what I mean? I can’t deny, WWE has a ton of dream matches with guys I would love to work with and guys that are my friends. But just, AEW is like… I love the potential of being able to work with all of these incredible unique talent from every corner of the globe essentially.”
Q. How big is the EVP role?
Kenny liked that AEW wanted to have a women’s division. Joshi wrestling brought Kenny back into wrestling. He wanted to help AEW recruit talent even when he wasn’t officially on board. He’s been in contact with the people he thinks are the best unsigned talent.
Q. Did you have a moment when you made your decision or was it twisting and turning and sleepless nights?
It was twisting and turning and sleepless nights. There was no clear cut winner in the negotiation phase. The most surprising thing was how cool it was to discuss things with WWE, he was willing to hear them out but he didn’t even expect them to be in the running. Kenny has a 4 year contract with AEW, it’s the longest contract he’s ever signed but it has a lot of crossover potential and it felt natural. He’s still going to be able to do the e-sports, the documentary stuff etc.
Q. You’ve seen the documentary?
He’s seen his cut. It was hard to watch it and enjoy it. He felt self-conscious but it did make him feel a bit emotional. He didn’t feel like it would give a lot of new information for fans.
[Break for Kenny phone call.]
He feels like an everyday person can enjoy it. That’s how he like his matches to be too so he’s happy with that. Wants to show the range of wrestling and how it can make people feel.
Q. Can you go to NJPW? Would you be excited to go?
Its specifically written in his contract that he can appear for NJPW whenever he wants. But obviously NJPW has to want him back too. He hopes the Tanahashi match wasn’t his last. AEW wants to work with everybody and they have a lot of ties to NJPW so the doors always open.
20:20
Q. How do you plan to strategize to get companies to work together with you and each other?
Those companies will get left behind if they can’t get over their rivalries. Kenny wants their doors to stay open so they can work with anyone as long as those companies are willing to work with them.
Q. Programme with Tanahashi. Battle of ideologies that was built on reality, lots of people thought it wouldn’t work but it did.
In the last wrestle kingdom Kenny and Jericho did a very old style feud but the Tanahashi one was something more untested. They were lucky to have been kept apart for so long. There had been hints Tana didn’t appreciate Kenny’s wrestling and that fueled the fire for their rivalry. As people they get along fine, but they can tell each other to their faces that they don’t like each other’s style of wrestling.
Kenny himself wasn’t impressed by the Tana vs Ibushi G1 final but he could step back and see that it worked for the crowd and created an amazing atmosphere. So when Tana wanted to make the feud into the ideological battle Kenny thought it would be an interesting story. Some trolls on the internet thought it sucked but other people actually got really invested and sent him hate messages etc. Kenny knew he was on the way out. He didn’t want the crowd to be split.
27:30
Dave liked the spot where Tana realized, he had to stoop to Kenny’s level to win the match.
Kenny confirms that was the story they were trying to tell. As much as their ideas clashed it made for an interesting discussion while planning. They managed to show their strengths and pick the best of both their styles. Kenny says its one of his career highlights. He loved the match, his video package, he loved how invested the people were. He had to blur the lines to get those people invested and have them turn on him. It felt real, his fans turning on him, but it was a necessary evil because he was leaving the company and he wanted to leave the fans with Tanahashi.
Q. Kota Ibushi, do you expect to bring him in to AEW?
Kenny:“Absolutely, by all means we would love, absolutely love to use Kota. I wish he was here all the time, like he would be of course the perfect roommate if he liked America. I’m probably going to relocate to America as well. But he actually has a wrestling school now, I don’t know you knew that? Yeah, he’s got a wrestling school in Japan. We’re going to be supportive of that, he has a couple of commitments there, as of now, but again, the door is wide open. Without even really saying anything, I would expect to see him here… in the future. Not Double or Nothing or anything, but um… I’ll say near future."
33:08
Q. This is going to be weekly television, do you have a lot of ideas on what you want to do?
Yeah, they have a lot of ideas Kenny is excited for. Kenny and the Bucks love writing stuff for other people.
They talk about Nyla Rose, how Kenny met her + became aware of her in the AKB48 television drama + live shows. Kenny is excited for people to see the Joshi stars.
Q. OWE guys.
Kenny’s watched their full shows on YouTube but the first thing he saw was gifs on twitter. They are proper monks. It’s another fresh perspective. Dragon gate was a great place to develop talent. Cima is a good trainer.
Q. The show is probably gonna sell out now, it’s a big draw for a new company. Kenny’s stardom comes from Japan.
The internet has allowed people to see worldwide talent. It makes Kenny less nervous. A lot of hardcore wrestling fans watch everything
42:40
Q. What are his goals for 2019?
Gaming stuff. He needs to get back in shape. Looking forward to crossover with gaming even more than last year with the new day etc. You don’t need to compete; you can merge worlds. It’s a natural fit for Kenny. He’s also writing a children’s book.
Q. Gaming as an active passion. What is it about it that inspires him?
It molded who Kenny is. He used to do video game inspired moves + still names moves after games and stuff. Gaming can be a full-time job now. Gaming and wrestling are similar in a way, they start as a hobby and it’s the dream to make it your livelihood. There’s a common ground between wrestling and gaming. Stigma around wrestling and gaming is changing. More people are accepting wrestling for the art that it is, not just dismissing it as fake fighting.
Q. Kenny used to do MMA
Kenny’s pharmacist knew he was trying to get into wrestling and tried to get him into MMA instead. The guy gave him tapes and he fell in love with Sakuraba + pride and started training in Jiu Jitsu.
When he came back from developmental, he trained more and started to complete. He got silver and was heartbroken when he got choked out by a power lifter because he really thought he was going to win. But losing made him work harder. At 6 months he got double gold. He started trying to test himself more.
Eventually he was at a crossroads and had to choose. He hated weight cutting. Had cyanonsis after the competition when he won. He looked terrible like he was gonna die. He liked the winning but even when he was fighting, he wanted to perform. He didn’t like UFC like he liked pride. Then the match with AJ got him back into wrestling. He was able to keep up with AJ and they were able to do stuff together.
56:14
Q. How did you get hooked up to DDT as a full timer?
After the AJ match he decided to get back into the American indies. Kevin Mathews invited him over to try and get him into Jersey All Pro. He worked some smaller shows and Loki spoke up for him. Wrestled Danny Demonto and from then on JAPW was willing to bring him out for more shows. Loki got injured and had to drop the belt and chose to drop it to Kenny.
A Japanese couple was at the show and they ran a website that recapped north east independent wrestling for the Japanese audience. He did an interview with him where he mentioned the Japanese indies he watched including DDT and K-dojo.
He wanted to work with the small indies. He emailed Taka but Taka didn’t really get back to him. Matsui the ref from DDT contacted the couple and arranged for Kenny to come over.
1:00:00
Q. When did he take up residence in Japan?
Officially it’s been three years. But Kenny had his first breakthrough in around 2010-11ish, by then he was spending the majority of the year there. Kenny loves Japan.
Q. Does he feel like he has to top his previous matches?
He tries to keep a certain critical fan perception out of his mind. He doesn’t worry about botches, it’s part of the performance. He would rather try new things that don’t necessarily work then do the same thing over and over. There were mixed responses to the 3-way but he’s proud of having tried it rather than stick exactly to the New Japan big match formula. Tana match was double pressure because they had to pull the big guns out as well as try something new.
Q. How much pressure did he put on himself for the Kota match?
That was a unique situation. Kenny didn’t see it as a be all end all match, it was a taste of things to come. The pressure was sort of off because they’d already sold out the Budokan and Tana vs Okada had only sold 60%. New Japan didn’t like the image that the two guys from the indies were outselling their home-grown talent. This was perfect in Kenny’s mind because he wanted Kota for MSG or Tokyo dome. Also Ibushi had to come back the next day against Tana, so they saved the big match for the big show.
Things didn’t go the way Kenny thought. They didn’t get behind Kenny and Kota’s story the way he hoped and now Kenny is going to do the AEW thing. But the promise is still alive.
Q. Maybe AEW will do a stadium show someday and Ibushi vs Kenny would be a big match for that.
Kenny agrees, says there’s even more fresh match ups for Ibushi in AEW than himself. He wants to see Ibushi against people against AEW. He wants to do more GL tag matches against fresh opponents.