Kenny Omega Talks Wrestle Kingdom 11, Bullet Club in WWE, New Day

Kenny Omega is already considered one of the best all-around wrestlers in the business, but he has the opportunity at Wrestle Kingdom 11 to transcend New Japan Pro Wrestling's hardcore following and become one of the biggest stars in the world.

On Jan. 4 at the Tokyo Dome, Omega will square off against Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship after becoming the first non-Japanese wrestler to ever win the G1 Climax tournament and earn the honor of main-eventing the company's biggest show of the year.

In a recent interview promoting Wrestle Kingdom 11 on New Japan World and the replay on AXS TV, Omega spoke to Ring Rust Radio about New Japan's biggest show of the year, the success of Bullet Club members in WWE and his feud against former WWE tag team champions The New Day.

While many wrestlers feel pressure when performing at the biggest events of the year for their respective companies, Omega is calm, cool and collected as he heads into arguably the most important match of his career:

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To be in the main event, I should feel pressure, and there are a lot of people that are expecting a lot from me, my company included. I expect a lot from myself. You're going to have people that want you to fail, people that doubt you should be in that position, and I just want to shut those guys up. I do feel confident that, if I just bring the package that I've been bringing all year, the match should be fine, and the fans should be going home happy, so I'm looking forward to it.

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Omega is confident in his talent because he is arguably the best in-ring worker in the business and has the character and charisma to match. As the leader of Bullet Club, The Cleaner is taking the baton from former members like AJ Styles and Finn Balor and carving his own path to the top:

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Doing what I did as a junior, what I did in the G1, main-eventing in the Tokyo Dome; these are all things that neither AJ nor Finn did in their time in New Japan, so I like to think that all three of us are etching our very different path in pro wrestling. As happy and proud as I am for them, I don't ever want to mimic or follow in their footsteps. If I do something, I want it to be something completely original or an industry first or something that's never been done before.

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Not only is Omega great in the ring and on the mic, but he is also an innovator in the sport. As seen from his online battles against WWE's The New Day, the New Japan star continues to push the boundaries of reality in wrestling.

Wrestling fans these days understand the restrictions between companies and how contracts prevent any matches between The New Day and The Elite—Omega and The Young Bucks—but the creativity shown to build genuine and organic interest in a possible battle shows how smart Omega is in the business:

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We didn't care about contracts, who was going to win, who was going to lose, what day it is going to be. We just wanted it to happen. The fans wanted it to happen, and even the fans that didn't know about our social media rivalry wanted it to happen. I do think, if they saw it, people would enjoy it, and they would love it. This is something that would cause pro wrestling to grow even more so as a whole. Not WWE, not New Japan—just pro wrestling. Cool stuff like that just doesn't happen anymore. Everything is more predictable, in my opinion.

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Selfishly, many American wrestling fans would love to see Omega in WWE or NXT, but he fits perfectly into the long-term plans of New Japan. With the chance to become the face of the international expansion of the brand, Omega is the cornerstone the company needs heading into the future.

With creative freedom that he likely wouldn't be afforded in any other company, Omega has built a character and persona that has made him one of the most popular wrestlers today. Add in his ability to speak English and Japanese, and he is the perfect ambassador for the New Japan brand.

As Omega continues to take on more responsibility with the company, his position as a true top star in the industry will be cemented. At Wrestle Kingdom 11, Omega will transcend New Japan and force casual wrestling fans to take note.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player above (some language NSFW).