AEW's Kenny Omega vs. NJPW's Will Ospreay Hailed as 2023 Match of the Year Contender

The IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship match between Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay at New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 17 received rave reviews from wrestling fans and analysts on social media Wednesday.

Omega, who has made AEW and the United States his home base since 2019, returned to New Japan for the first time since January 2019, when he dropped the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 13.

It was as if Omega never left, as he demonstrated great chemistry with Ospreay, who has been an NJPW star since 2016.

While Omega and Ospreay did not get physical prior to their match, they traded barbs on Twitter for years leading up to it, which added to the intensity and enjoyment of their encounter.

Ultimately, Omega prevailed after over 30 minutes to become a two-time IWGP U.S. champ, and observers heralded it as an early Match of the Year contender for 2023:

Expectations were through the roof for Omega vs. Ospreay since both competitors have been considered to be among the best in-ring workers in the world for several years.

Still, there was some level of uncertainty regarding how they would mesh since their only singles match against each other before Wednesday was with PWG back in 2015.

Both Omega and Ospreay have had their fair share of classic matches on big stages, including Wrestle Kingdom, but an argument can be made for Wednesday's match being the best-ever for both performers.

As good as their encounter was, it is perhaps even more exciting to consider what it means for NJPW and AEW moving forward, as an AEW wrestler is now in possession of the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.

That would seem to suggest that Omega will be working more with NJPW in the future, which could be huge for the promotion.

Omega is one of NJPW's biggest stars of the past couple of decades, and getting him back in the fold on a semi-consistent basis should go a long way toward generating more interest in the product.

---

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).