Kenny Omega is coming to terms with his new normal.
Omega wrestled all over the world and cemented his status as one of AEW‘s top stars before he lost the AEW World Championship to Hangman Page at Full Gear 2021. “The Best Bout Machine” spent the next few months healing up from a few surgeries, and he also rehabbed some injuries he had been dealing with. He briefly returned to AEW in August and went on to win the AEW World Trios Championship with The Young Bucks at AEW All Out, but they were suspended after a confrontation with CM Punk. The trio came back in a big way at AEW Full Gear.
Since then, Omega has hit the ground running in his return to the ring. He and the Bucks battled Death Triangle six times after their clash at Full Gear, culminating in an Escalera de la Muerte on the January 11 episode of AEW Dynamite. Omega also waged war with IWGP United States Champion Will Ospreay at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 and beat him to win the title.
In an interview with Liam Moore of ComicBook, Omega looked back on this stretch and stated that it brought him back down to reality. Whereas he used to bounce back right away from grueling matches, he stated was still feeling the effects over a week later.
“I would say before the Best of Seven series and the Tokyo Dome I was feeling pretty good,” Omega said. “After completing the Best of Seven Series, which culminated in a Ladder Match, and barely being removed from the match that I did with Will Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom, it was kind of a slap in the face from reality being like, ‘Hey, don’t go thinking you’re 100% again. We just let you think that for a couple of weeks (laughs). This is your new 100% so get used to it, kid.’
“That was the crashing back down to reality moment for me. Like, okay, I did it. I survived. I’m really proud of this work, but oh boy, it’s going to take a while to recover. It wasn’t like a ‘give me a 24-hour’ kind of thing. It’s been over a week and I’m still feeling it.”
Omega has been absent from AEW TV in recent weeks, reportedly due to visa issues. More information is available here.
RELATED: TBS Championship Match And More Announced For 2/1 AEW Dynamite
