Posted in My Blog

Kenny Omega Returns to NJPW With FF7 Styled Entrance

  Published Date: January 6, 2023

Kenny Omega returns to New Japan Professional Wrestling with Type.

On January 4, 2023, Japanese wrestling promotion New Japan Professional Wrestling (NJPW) held its annual Tokyo Dome present. Wrestle Kingdom 17 marked the thirty second time the present was held within the legendary venue on today. It is an important day for a lot of causes. Not solely does the large Wrestle Kingdom present to mark the tip of the yr for NJPW, however consider it because the season finale. It was additionally a memorial present held in honor of NJPW founder Antonio Inoki who handed away in October of final yr. It is also the tip of NJPW’s Fiftieth-anniversary celebrations.

The One Winged Angel flies once more

However for many viewers, even earlier than the primary bell rang the primary attraction was the return of Kenny Omega to NJPW on the grandest stage. Kenny Omega had left New Japan after dropping the title to Hiroshi Tanahashi in the primary occasion of Wrestle Kingdom 13. Again then, Omega entered as champion to a remix to the Undertale monitor Hopes and Dreams/ Save the World.

The 39-year-old Canadian has a historical past of incorporating online game tradition into his character. For years he used a remix of the Dr. Wily theme from Mega Man for his entrances, to the purpose it was even remixed by the Capcom Sound workforce themselves. And his transfer set can also be closely impressed by gaming tradition, for years he used the Avenue Fighter Hadouken as a palm strike and has since changed it with a working knee strike referred to as V-Set off. However most necessary to this story is his finisher, The One Winged Angel, named after Ultimate Fantasy VII villain Sephiroth.

In order the evening turned in the direction of the penultimate match, all eyes had been on Kenny Omega’s triumphant return to the promotion and the stage that had shot him to superstardom just a few years prior. Omega had left New Japan as the fallen hero and returned to assert this throne because the Greatest Bout Machine as soon as once more. Reenacting the enduring Tremendous Smash Bros. Final reveal of Ultimate Fantasy VII villain Sephiroth in full cosplay.

Whereas different shops have additionally reported on this, we really feel it is necessary to clarify the context of it because the story and cause behind this entrance make it much more wonderful.

Kenny Omega confronted off in opposition to IWGP United States Champion Will Ospreay who has been filling Omega’s place as the highest overseas man in New Japan since his departure. Will Ospreay himself has been on fairly a journey over the course of the previous three years, which regularly invited comparisons between him and Kenny Omega which laid the muse of this rivalry, to start with.

And over the previous three years, Kenny Omega was the shadow that loomed over Ospreay’s profession in NJPW. Every little thing Ospreay achieved paled compared to Omega, a reality which all the time gnawed on the British wrestler.

This invitations parallels between Ultimate Fantasy VII’s relationship between protagonist Cloud Strife and Sephiroth, and the match on the Tokyo Dome. Figuring out that each are avid avid gamers, Will Ospreay’s return to his Aerial Murderer gimmick the identical evening evoking his love for the Assassins Creed franchise, that battle might have served as an inspiration for this rivalry and match.

The match itself greater than lived as much as the hype, wrestling critic Dave Meltzer already cited it as one of many best matches he has ever seen and it at present sits on rank 5 on the user-voted website Cagematch.

However the match wasn’t the story of Will Ospreay overcoming his demons by lastly stepping out of Kenny Omega’s shadow. Very similar to Cloud, the Aerial Murderer has but to exorcise his self-doubts to face the One-Winged Angel. We can also’t ignore the parallels between the 2 performers. Omega rose to worldwide superstardom solely after a dropping effort in opposition to IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada in 2017 — on the identical stage no much less. This match will undoubtedly set Ospreay on an analogous path.

With Omega returning to NJPW and Will Ospreay set for what is going to undoubtedly be a career-defining run in 2023, New Japan Professional Wrestling is primed to make a return to type after the Pandemic crippled the corporate’s potential. And who is aware of, possibly we’ll get to see the upcoming second a part of the Ultimate Fantasy VII Remake affect this story even additional!

For extra gaming and esports information, be certain to test us out right here at ESTNN

Author: Ronnie Neal