AEW’s Kenny Omega has paid tribute to AJ Styles and the assorted ways the WWE star has helped his profession.
Omega recently discussed the essential role and impact Styles has had on his pro wrestling profession.
“I believe some people know that AJ has been very influential in my profession,” he said on “SHAK Wrestling.” “But there have been multiple scenarios where AJ being involved with something that I did really helped my profession.”
He recalled a time in WWE’s developmental territory when he lost his love for wrestling and contemplated retiring. He had the chance to wrestle Styles at indie promotion PCW, which he thought was a terrific approach to end his profession. But his natural reference to Styles and the way in which the match panned out made him realize he could pursue and proceed his wrestling dream.
“[He thought at that time] A pleasant good last match can be that one [against Styles] possibly. And I remember wrestling AJ, and I felt like, man, we had never — there was no interaction between us at any point ever before. But there have been moments in that match where it really felt that the give and take just felt so symbiotic, just like the chemistry was naturally there, and I assumed, ‘Wow, that is what it appears like to wrestle someone at this level, and I’m not embarrassing myself.'”
The match motivated him to work harder to get to the subsequent level in wrestling. The aforementioned match in PCW got here just a little bit while after his bad experience in Deep South Wrestling, WWE’s developmental territory.
Omega on how Styles impacted his profession
Kenny Omega worked closely with AJ Styles during their time in NJPW, which was a period where the previous was growing within the business, while the latter had established himself as among the finest. The AEW star remembered wanting to emulate Styles and be within the position he was in.
“It was a situation [in NJPW] where what AJ had and what he was capable of harness was something that I wanted. And I desired to see that path. I desired to see, what’s the making of a champion? How do you do it?” he said. “And I remember AJ, I had his blessing to incorporate me in a match that he had against Kota Ibushi. And from there, we were capable of rekindle and reintroduce fans to the Golden Lover storyline from there.”
Omega claimed that Styles also not directly had a small part to play within the creation of AEW, after the WWE star was kicked out of the Bullet Club by Omega and The Young Bucks.
“The final thing, and an important thing, perhaps, is after we turned on AJ before he left for WWE. We didn’t tell anybody,” he said. “And again, like I said, the natural chemistry and AJ just having a keen sense of what is best for business knew how exactly to associate with it. And in a way, by him turning his back and allowing for that moment to occur, whether he knows it or not, I mean, that led to the forming of the Elite, that led to BTE, that led to Hot Topic, ultimately, that type of led to AEW.”
Styles is heading to retirement in WWE, ruling out a possible reunion together with his former Bullet Club buddies in AEW.