Gauging the Impact of Kenny Omega Picking AEW over WWE on the Wrestling World

As expected, Kenny Omega chose All Elite Wrestling, shunning WWE in the process.

The 35-year-old made the long-awaited, predictable decision Thursday in Las Vegas at AEW's Double or Nothing rally. He revealed he will be a performer and executive vice-president before immediately getting into a confrontation with Chris Jericho.

The move classifies as a groundbreaking one, as it theoretically gives AEW a globally known superstar capable of helping the company grow faster than anticipated. Call it a feather in the cap of sorts too, as AEW can point to Omega as someone who had WWE and others as possibilities yet chose the new promotion.

The former New Japan Pro-Wrestling star explained the decision after the announcement in a sit-down with Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Robert Gunier of WrestlingInc.com):

"Japan is still going to have a place in my heart, a place in my life but AEW, for me, or even WWE, kind of seemed like the next step. [With] potential dream matches and all that, and sort of using the new platform, not necessarily a better one, or a bigger one or whatever. I just wanted a new platform to reach new people, to use my voice and my unique way of telling stories and all of that. I wanted just to change the stage that I had been performing on."

But perhaps another line from the interview is most important: "But at the end of the day, AEW presented something that was—they just couldn't be beat. I'm with my best friends in the business. I have a little bit of control in the creative, which is always, of course, very important."

The note about his best friends is mostly what made Omega's selection so predictable, but the note about creative control is far more important.

While some people have a say in what happens with their characters in WWE, the comment strikes a large alarm bell considering the happenings around Dean Ambrose, the modern WWE legend and Grand Slam champ who appears to have one foot out the door after his jaw-dropping misuse since his return from injury in August.

And rest assured, WWE Superstars were keeping a close eye on the happenings at AEW:

"

Cool to see some of Jericho’s former coworkers being openly supportive of his appearance at the @AEWrestling party last night to hype a match against Kenny Omega at #DoubleOrNothing pic.twitter.com/QNZ7IyOlHh

— Ryan Satin (@ryansatin) February 8, 2019"

Funnily enough, that image is interesting alongside this entire theme. Sasha Banks, for example, might want to test the waters elsewhere. She's a massive figure in WWE, but she has also been passed over in favor of Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch as the first all-female WrestleMania main event approaches.

Several odd starts and stops to a botched relationship with Bayley don't help. And Lana is close to a similar situation thanks to Rusev's place in roster purgatory.

Point is, Omega's turn away from the platform of WWE could have a much bigger impact than most realize. It won't happen overnight, but if AEW is dangling creative control like a carrot on a stick, the money and everything else will appeal to wrestling's stars.

Financially, it's clear AEW can compete with WWE. Tony Khan, son of Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, has a massive stake in this, and landing stars such as Jericho and Omega proves the money side of things won't be a problem.

What Omega did turn down with WWE is the dream matches with guys like AJ Styles and on platforms like WrestleMania. AEW can't come close to the latter and maybe never will, but the former is still up in the air. Some Superstars will be WWE lifers, but the company's excess of talent from top to bottom could mean dream matches end up coming to Omega in AEW, anyway.

Keep in mind Omega can also still work with NJPW, provided the company wants him. NJPW isn't the point here—it has more to do with creative freedom in AEW and the fact it seems clear the promotion won't throw down a ton of red tape to stop its stars from doing what they want outside of the ring.

For a talent like Omega, WWE still isn't out of the question. He's under contract for four years with AEW, yet come renewal time, he could end up signing with Vince McMahon's promotion to pursue some of those dream matches and stages like WrestleMania.

Building his brand stateside and helping a company blossom before making the leap makes plenty of sense.

However, there is another point about the whole situation: WWE didn't win this time, but it would come calling again when Omega's contract needs renewing. If AEW becomes a success, WWE will have to get over the fact some of these wrestlers will jump from promotion to promotion based on a variety of factors.

In the grand scheme, this is a move where the instant impact won't be felt right away. Hindsight will shine a much bigger spotlight on it, provided Omega and others can push AEW into a successful place after landing a television gig and building the brand.

Right now? It isn't hard to envision a future wherein some of WWE's talented Superstars stuck in limbo because of the monopoly gobbling up the world's best wrestlers left and right decide to head for AEW. There will always be rising stars who seek out WWE's stage and never look elsewhere, but having the option and at least partially chipping away at a monopoly isn't a bad thing.

In this case, Omega's move was a possible domino. It can also organically create competition between promotions over the long run, which as fans saw in the WCW days, can help forge the best years of wrestling possible.

Should this happen, Omega won't be the only reason for it—but he would go down as a pioneer who got the ball rolling.