Kenny Omega's Win vs. Chris Jericho Is the Right Move Ahead of NJPW's USA Show

Chris Jerico may consider himself "The Best in the World," but he wasn't good enough to beat Kenny Omega for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship at New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 12 Thursday. 

The result isn't all that surprising since Jericho is almost certainly only having a brief run in Japan before resuming his musical career or returning to WWE.

The logic behind adding Jericho to the Wrestle Kingdom card made perfect sense. New Japan's profile in the United States is beginning to grow—to such an extent the company had a two-night show in Long Beach, California, in July.

New Japan announced in November it plans to return to the Golden State on March 25:

With that in mind, Omega's win is the right move for New Japan to make. He became the inaugural U.S. heavyweight champion when he defeated Tomohiro Ishii at the second of NJPW's two Long Beach shows.

Some might argue a Jericho title run would have been a way to elevate the belt and get it front and center for the fans who aren't as familiar with New Japan, which was seemingly the goal of the U.S. heavyweight championship in the first place. The situation wouldn't be unlike part-time stars such as Brock Lesnar, Goldberg or The Rock holding WWE's biggest title.

But Jericho already helped bring a new level of mainstream attention to New Japan simply by squaring off with Omega at Wrestle Kingdom. Winning a championship—and a minor one at that—wouldn't have magnified his impact.

Plus, the last thing the U.S. title needs is a string of different champions over a period of less than a year. Wrestle Kingdom marked only the fourth time Omega had put the championship on the line.

Had he prevailed, seeing Jericho drop the championship at Friday's New Year Dash was a distinct possibility since he's only a marquee attraction rather than a long-term piece of the NJPW roster.

Instead, Omega can head into the spring as the champion and possibly bring the U.S. title full circle by losing in Long Beach.

The question then becomes who would be a suitable successor to The Cleaner.

Cody Rhodes will be familiar to many American fans, and his affiliation with the Bullet Club could raise the stakes of a match with Omega. The latter would also apply to Chase Owens and Tama Tonga, neither of whom has been a NJPW singles champion.

Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr.'s work in WWE's Cruiserweight Classic could make either guy suitable for a United States-centric title as well.

Whatever route New Japan takes, Omega is a much better fit as its U.S. heavyweight champion heading into the company's trip to the States in March.