April 10, 2026 • 21 mins
On this episode of the Battleground Podcast, Kenny Omega opens up about AEW Dynasty, facing MJF, and how this version of himself is different from the past. He looks back on his iconic rivalry with Okada, the emotional connection to performing in Canada, and why the Golden Lovers story remains one of his proudest accomplishments. Kenny also tells the wild story of how he ended up with the legendary Red Octobers.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
The battle Ground Battles. Let the hold.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
What's up you guys, Welcome back into iHeartRadio's official wrestling podcast,
the Battleground Podcast. It is battle and man, what a
time it is AEW Dynasty this Sunday, and what a
stacked card when you look at it from top to bottom.
And joining us on the show today is a man
known by many names.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Let's see the best bout machine.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
There's the cleaner, there's the belt collector, there's the god
of professional wrestling, but we all know him as Kenny Omega.
Kenny Man. It's an honor to have you on the show.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Thanks for being here, Thank you for having me. It's
it's it's great to be here.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I'm so glad to have you on the show. So
let's kind of dive right into it. AW Dynasty this weekend.
The last time you had a match with MJF he
beats you. What is different about you heading into this weekend?
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I mean, arguably I'm in a little bit better shape.
I'm not as sick as I once was. I think
that the physical conditioning that I'm in now just is
above and beyond.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Where it was at before.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
So I think you're going to see a different version
of myself. Are we going to see a different version
of MGF? I mean, I don't know. He's the kind
of guy who thinks that his version of himself as
he is, as he is before us right now is perfect.
He's if you think of perfection in man and human
human history, you're going to think that it's going to
(01:41):
be MGF. Or he would think of himself as as such.
So it's less of what I'm bringing new to the table,
and what is MGF that's going to bring that's new
to the table.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
I don't know. We'll see on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Yeah, we'll definitely see. Of course, Dynasty is in Vancouver.
Basically it's a homecoming for you.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
What is it?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
What does it mean to be able to wrestle in
front of a Canadian crowd that watched you grow up
for the world title?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, that part of things is very interesting.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I mean it's because we started with Winnipeg and that's
where I'm actually from, That's where I grew up in
And to see an arena full of people who I
for sure, one thousand percent I have never seen before
in my life. A lot a lot of these people anyhow,
But to hear the cheers and to feel the adulation,
(02:35):
it's just to me as someone who's always just been
so private, And even when I was in Winnipeg, I
was never really outspoken too much. And when I did
wrestle in the Indies, it was for a very small
amount of people, So I never would have thought anyone
outside of that small little bubble would have known who
I was. But to see now, you know, the arena
(02:59):
that the Winnipeg to play in an arena full of
people that I have never met before know who I
am and cheer for me and encourage me to do
well and to be happy that I've conquered this illness,
it was a great feeling.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
And then you know, we were in.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Edmonton just a few days ago, and I kind of
told the story a little bit on TV, But I
mean that was a place that I was. It was
very much the same as Winnipeg. I would go there
once a month and there'd be very smaller crowds, maybe
one hundred and fifty people, maybe two hundred, and you know,
I would look forward to that fourteen hour drive every month,
(03:41):
and I feel like every performance I would get a
little bit better. But I never would have thought that
an arena full of people would know my name or
be willing and wanting to cheer me. So with all
of these new local that we're going to in Canada,
(04:01):
I'm always blown away by the hospitality and the kindness
of everyone. I'm not sure if it's just because I'm
a fellow Canadian or who knows, maybe they like my
wrestling too, but it's always very welcomed and always puts
a smile on my face.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Absolutely, And of course you talk about Kenny Omega, and
obviously there's a name attached to Kenny Omega when it
comes to the history and that being Okata and those matches,
people call them some of the best ever in the moment,
could you feel that or did it only hit you afterwards?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Ah? Nah?
Speaker 1 (04:40):
You know what so interesting story with that was that
I was very unsure how things would go, and all
I knew was that I was very fortunate and lucky
to have the position of being in the Tokyo Domain event.
We had seen years previous where there maybe had been
(05:01):
an opportunity for a foreigner to be in a main event,
and the company had always decided we're not going to
take that direction.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
We're not going to go in this direction this time.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
We're gonna We're going to stay the course and you know,
keep it keep it to the you know, keep keep
it at home, close to close to the heart, close
to the vest. And I remember even when we had
Aj Styles who was primed and ready to go as
a main eventor it didn't work out for him because
(05:34):
you know, they had done something where they wanted they
wanted to run a vote as to who would be
the main event, and there's some title switches and a
bunch of chicanery and it just didn't work out. But
when I had seen that Aj was on the precipice
of doing something incredible, which at the time, to me,
I didn't think I'd be alive or active in a
(05:55):
world where you know, I could be close to a
Tokyoto main event, even tied to it. Because for me,
I mean there's a huge sense of pride even just
being a second to Aj, like you being at ringside
of Cheermont for his heavyweight title bolts, just being a
part of Bullet Club and to be an integral part
of New Japan's business. Knowing that we were selling a
(06:18):
lot of merchandise and all that. You know, I felt
real special just for that.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
But to then.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Have the responsibility of being a Toky Doo main event,
making sure that that was a home run, maybe not
even a Grand Slam like it had to be. I
knew that I had to pour everything into that match,
not only to prove to the company and to the
world that you know, us as foreigners could do something
(06:46):
incredible for this company, and that even though maybe we
didn't speak the same native language, that I could communicate
in a way where you could feel what I'm feeling,
and I could make you feel what I wanted you
to feel in that moment as well. Those are important
(07:09):
to prove on that night. And also, and this is
just more more important to me than anybody else, But
that was the one of the first times that my
mother had come to watch a show, and I think
I'm pretty convinced to this day that I'm sure she
had thought. Up until that point, I was paying my
(07:33):
way out to Japan every trip that I was just
going out there to hang out.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
I was losing all.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
My money, probably involved in loan sharks to pay for
these these plane tickets.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Wasn't getting paid anything.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
For her to be able to be there and see
that and to feel like, oh, you know, my son's
actually okay. You know, he's the thing that he said
he was doing is a job, actually is a real job,
and you know he actually is employed by this place.
He's he's doing a pretty good job at doing it.
Even though I lost that match, it was it was
(08:07):
good to put their minds at ease, right, And so yeah,
that was a it was a really big weight to
bear for for that match, especially, But then when it
became a thing, every match that happened thereon after exponentially
became more and more difficult. And I always wonder, like,
(08:33):
going going back, like how did I do it? Like
not just not just the actual execution of it, but
how did I handle that pressure?
Speaker 2 (08:43):
I don't know, because.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
I mean, just I'm no stranger, maybe because of the
way that I conduct myself, or just the fact that
I I wasn't someone that was manufactured by machine for
whatever reason, that by default causes for a lot of
people to hope for my downfall, and they like to
see me fail and to have so many people all
(09:10):
around you hoping for you to flounder, hoping for you
to screw up, hoping for you to be out in
the streets. It those are situations where either rise up
and become something that you didn't even see yourself capable of,
(09:30):
or you just fall to the pressure. Used to come
to the pressure, and I wasn't sure, you know, in sports,
leading up to that point, I'd always saw myself as
someone who did well in the face of pressure. But
wrestling is there's so much more that goes into a performance.
(09:51):
Like I said before, you know, there's a matter of
if a match is good, great, that's fantastic. But did
we our tickets? How is the merchandise? Do we have
something that we can move forward with that can bear fruit?
There are so many other factors that go into play,
(10:13):
and you have to sort of hit a home run
across the board. This was kind of why I was saying,
it has to be a Grand Slam. It can't just
be a home run like all across all fronts. You
have to have seen a success and yeah, how how
I was able to pull that off?
Speaker 2 (10:34):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
That's why I say it, and it comes from a
place of earnest. I don't recognize that person when I
see footage back, just that.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
That confidence and that that.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I don't know what that what I was on, man,
but yeah, I guess I had something to prove, and
thankfully that the focus was primarily and possibly only solely
on that.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
And there was never a fear of failure.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
I don't think if I remembering back, I know everyone
wanted me to fail, but I never feared it for myself.
And maybe that even speaks to Okada's talents as well.
It is because it's like, man, it's Okada, and you
know he he was just the guy that was having
(11:28):
incredible matches with everyone up and down the card. So
I felt like, even at its worst, it's probably still
going to be a pretty good match.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
You know.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Did I think it would make history, that I think
people would talk about it outside of New Japan? Or
did I think that somehow, you know, there would be
ties to the current aw with that, And I didn't know.
I didn't didn't know anything.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
I was just.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
For me. It was just I wanted to do everything
that I could for this the state of global professional wrestling.
I wanted to show the beauty of of multicultural professional wrestling,
as odd as that may sound, you know, I love
(12:13):
Japanese strong style, but you know, I love the world
of sports style in the UK. I love literally, I
love I love American you know, showbiz style. It's it's all.
It all has its place, it's all really important, it's all.
I've been entertained by all of it. And Yeah, in
a way, I sort of feel like back then with
(12:35):
Bullet Club and what we had done with it, and
then moving forward with the Elite that was sort of
already like a dry run of what AW was. So Yeah,
for us to find success in that, I think was
really sort of proving grounds for AW was a concept
to know that we would if we existed in a
(12:57):
world where there was US as an option and on TV,
that we could do well.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Yeah, and clearly it has been because it's still on
TV many years later.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
AW every week and of course you've got.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Dyna see this weekend and when you think about it,
you talk about Okata, you ended his long IWGP title ring,
you beat Osprey at Wrestle Kingdom, and now you're back
in this huge chapter with MJF this weekend when it's
all said and done and they're telling the stories of
Kenny Omega years from now, which rivalry do you think
defined you the most.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of people sort
of default to the Ocado one, and I understand why.
But I would say that for fans that were primarily
(13:57):
New Japan fans, they also would argue that they've really
enjoyed my series of matches that I had with Nizo,
they really enjoyed the series of matches I had with Ishi.
And for a lot of people, and again it depends
(14:18):
on how it is that you first came across seeing
me or what have you.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Some of the people know me.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
More because of the Golden Lover stuff, which is also fantastic,
And I think that was some of the most proud
storytelling that I've ever done in my career, because that
was all the onus was all on us to continue
that story forward and to always sort of implant that
in the things we had done when maybe the promoters
(14:48):
or the bookers didn't see the value in it. You know,
we had always sort of wanted to not insult the
fans intelligence, and regardless of what promotion we were in,
we wanted to show that there was this interconnectivity and
that there are these human emotions and that you know,
life doesn't end just because of promotion changes. You know,
relationships don't end because of promotion changes. And it was
(15:12):
cool that we could see this multiple promotion spanning storyline
that took about geez like a decade to see like
the Grand Finale too, and to be able to be
at the forefront of an actual, real, long term story
(15:33):
that where the onus was completely on us to tell. Yeah,
I mean for me, that's that's that's a real pride
accomplishment for sure.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Yeah. Absolutely, Well. I know that we're kind of coming
up here towards the end of our interview because you've
got some other things to do, especially prepare for this
big match against MJF where you did put up against
your EVP status on the line for this title. Last
question I have for you because this has been taking
the story the internet by storm, and I have to ask,
because we've all seen the video was running in the
(16:03):
Red October's worth it increasing them?
Speaker 1 (16:08):
You know. Here's the thing, man, So the Bucks are
super into shoe culture or may not know, and I'm
just sort of attached to them as like the wingman
type of guy. So I see, like, damn, it's cool,
(16:29):
you got such cool shoes of the time. I sometimes
have a hard time matching without fits and et cetera,
et cetera, et cetera. So I'm gonna start to buy
shoes too. If you guys go out, I'll just go
with you. And if there's a color that I don't
have or need or whatever, if I see something that's
kind of nice, I'll get it. And I had done
some work with this company and they had some super
(16:55):
cool collapse and it's called bait, and I was always
wearing their shirts and they always did really interesting collaborations
a lot of times, like you know, Marvel, DC, some
anime stuff too, So I thought like, man, I would
love to wear your stuff just all the time, just
you casually or whatever on TV. I'll wear it too.
(17:17):
And then they just kind of blew up. They became
a big thing. And I remember going to their head
offices and they had said like, hey, Kenny, you know
you've done stuff for us, this pro bono just because
you enjoyed our you know, the things that we've created,
and we never gave you any money or paid you anything.
(17:37):
And I said he didn't have to, Like, I just
enjoy your clothing. It's all good.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Stuff.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
I said, yeah, we get it. This is but you know,
if there's something that you like in the store, you know,
we would love for you to take it. So I said, okay,
So I saw these shoes and it's not what you're
thinking because they weren't the red Octobers. But I saw
(18:02):
these shoes. They're looking pretty nice, and I said, well,
I don't have a colorway like this yet. So I
felt bad, but I was like, you know what, like this,
these are pretty funky. And they're like, okay, yeah, absolutely
you can't. He goes, well, what about these guys, and
in point of the red Octobers, I said, ah, I said, yeah,
(18:24):
it's cool, weird, like off red color. I don't have
anything like that, you know. Uh, I don't think I'll
ever have anything like that. It's kind of neat. And
I was like, yeah, this is I don't know if
I like them more than these guys though, And they're
like really and I said yeah, and they're like, well,
(18:48):
you know what, how a would you just take them both?
Speaker 2 (18:50):
I said, wow, okay, geez, what a deal. And you
know it, when it came to.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Just like all right, we got a couple of TV
appearances and you know, I don't plan on wearing a
suit or anything, but you know, should.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
I wear like a new pair of shoes or you
know what happened?
Speaker 1 (19:13):
He's like, Okay, yeah, I'll wear new pair of shoes,
and yeah, I wear these things. And before I even
went out, the bucks were like whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
Like what is that what I think that they are?
And I said, I what is what is what are
we talking about? And they said, and I think it
(19:34):
was Nick that I was saying, it's like, Matt, check
this out and he's like he's got the red October's
and he's like, there's no way you bought those.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
I said, no, I.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Didn't, and they're like, well, yeah, I didn't think you would.
And I said, yeah, there's I said, what are you
talking about here? Guys like what's going on? And they
started to pull up like the stock X prices where
I was like whoa. I said, this was like one
of the greatest thank you gifts I'd ever received, with
like unknowingly so unbeknownst to me, here I am with
(20:06):
these legendary shoes and not utilizing them in probably the
best way. But it's because I was a poser. I'm
a fraud. I'm just kind of trying to get shoes
just so I have different colors. It's not because I
actually know a darned thing about them. But that's the
story of how I procured the Red Octobers without.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
Even knowing the legend behind them.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
Such a great story, for sure. I mean, we could
sit here and talk stories all day long about shoes
and wrestling, but I know you've got a busy schedule
getting ready for Dynasty this weekend. Before we let you go,
anything you wanted to say to the fans watching or
listening to this right.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Now, Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
You know, I don't get a chance to do too
many interviews, whether it be because of schedule or you know,
every time that I get a chunk of time, I'm
usually trying to fill it up with some sort of
auxiliary work that I can do that probably leads me
to So it's really cool that I'm able to get
on here with you guys.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Say a few words, share a few stories.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
I think that Red October one is maybe the first
time EVE ever been able to tell that story. So
if people found it interesting, if they had a fun
time fantastic, and I will see everybody at the pay
per view and hopefully beyond, and maybe next time I'll
have the belt as well, just like the one that
you have above your head.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Whatever kind of belt that is, I can't tell, but.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
That is our podcast belt that we have it is
there we go.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, So next time, what we'll have.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
To do is I'll have to buy one of the
aw title belts. We'll put it back here behind me.
You come on with your belt and I'll put mine
back there, so we'll have fun.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
There we go. Yeah, yeah, you do trade.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
Absolutely well, Kenny. It's an honor and or pretty much
to have you on the show. We look forward to
this Sunday, we look forward to seeing you win that
title BTMJF and we're excited to have you back on
the show very very soon.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Again, fantastic, Thank you so much.
Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
The battle Ground Battles. Let the hold.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
What's up you guys, Welcome back into iHeartRadio's official wrestling podcast,
the Battleground Podcast. It is battle and man, what a
time it is AEW Dynasty this Sunday, and what a
stacked card when you look at it from top to bottom.
And joining us on the show today is a man
known by many names.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Let's see the best bout machine.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
There's the cleaner, there's the belt collector, there's the god
of professional wrestling, but we all know him as Kenny Omega.
Kenny Man. It's an honor to have you on the show.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Thanks for being here, Thank you for having me. It's
it's it's great to be here.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I'm so glad to have you on the show. So
let's kind of dive right into it. AW Dynasty this weekend.
The last time you had a match with MJF he
beats you. What is different about you heading into this weekend?
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I mean, arguably I'm in a little bit better shape.
I'm not as sick as I once was. I think
that the physical conditioning that I'm in now just is
above and beyond.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Where it was at before.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
So I think you're going to see a different version
of myself. Are we going to see a different version
of MGF? I mean, I don't know. He's the kind
of guy who thinks that his version of himself as
he is, as he is before us right now is perfect.
He's if you think of perfection in man and human
human history, you're going to think that it's going to
(01:41):
be MGF. Or he would think of himself as as such.
So it's less of what I'm bringing new to the table,
and what is MGF that's going to bring that's new
to the table.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
I don't know. We'll see on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Yeah, we'll definitely see. Of course, Dynasty is in Vancouver.
Basically it's a homecoming for you.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
What is it?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
What does it mean to be able to wrestle in
front of a Canadian crowd that watched you grow up
for the world title?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, that part of things is very interesting.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I mean it's because we started with Winnipeg and that's
where I'm actually from, That's where I grew up in
And to see an arena full of people who I
for sure, one thousand percent I have never seen before
in my life. A lot a lot of these people anyhow,
But to hear the cheers and to feel the adulation,
(02:35):
it's just to me as someone who's always just been
so private, And even when I was in Winnipeg, I
was never really outspoken too much. And when I did
wrestle in the Indies, it was for a very small
amount of people, So I never would have thought anyone
outside of that small little bubble would have known who
I was. But to see now, you know, the arena
(02:59):
that the Winnipeg to play in an arena full of
people that I have never met before know who I
am and cheer for me and encourage me to do
well and to be happy that I've conquered this illness,
it was a great feeling.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
And then you know, we were in.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Edmonton just a few days ago, and I kind of
told the story a little bit on TV, But I
mean that was a place that I was. It was
very much the same as Winnipeg. I would go there
once a month and there'd be very smaller crowds, maybe
one hundred and fifty people, maybe two hundred, and you know,
I would look forward to that fourteen hour drive every month,
(03:41):
and I feel like every performance I would get a
little bit better. But I never would have thought that
an arena full of people would know my name or
be willing and wanting to cheer me. So with all
of these new local that we're going to in Canada,
(04:01):
I'm always blown away by the hospitality and the kindness
of everyone. I'm not sure if it's just because I'm
a fellow Canadian or who knows, maybe they like my
wrestling too, but it's always very welcomed and always puts
a smile on my face.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Absolutely, And of course you talk about Kenny Omega, and
obviously there's a name attached to Kenny Omega when it
comes to the history and that being Okata and those matches,
people call them some of the best ever in the moment,
could you feel that or did it only hit you afterwards?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Ah? Nah?
Speaker 1 (04:40):
You know what so interesting story with that was that
I was very unsure how things would go, and all
I knew was that I was very fortunate and lucky
to have the position of being in the Tokyo Domain event.
We had seen years previous where there maybe had been
(05:01):
an opportunity for a foreigner to be in a main event,
and the company had always decided we're not going to
take that direction.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
We're not going to go in this direction this time.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
We're gonna We're going to stay the course and you know,
keep it keep it to the you know, keep keep
it at home, close to close to the heart, close
to the vest. And I remember even when we had
Aj Styles who was primed and ready to go as
a main eventor it didn't work out for him because
(05:34):
you know, they had done something where they wanted they
wanted to run a vote as to who would be
the main event, and there's some title switches and a
bunch of chicanery and it just didn't work out. But
when I had seen that Aj was on the precipice
of doing something incredible, which at the time, to me,
I didn't think I'd be alive or active in a
(05:55):
world where you know, I could be close to a
Tokyoto main event, even tied to it. Because for me,
I mean there's a huge sense of pride even just
being a second to Aj, like you being at ringside
of Cheermont for his heavyweight title bolts, just being a
part of Bullet Club and to be an integral part
of New Japan's business. Knowing that we were selling a
(06:18):
lot of merchandise and all that. You know, I felt
real special just for that.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
But to then.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Have the responsibility of being a Toky Doo main event,
making sure that that was a home run, maybe not
even a Grand Slam like it had to be. I
knew that I had to pour everything into that match,
not only to prove to the company and to the
world that you know, us as foreigners could do something
(06:46):
incredible for this company, and that even though maybe we
didn't speak the same native language, that I could communicate
in a way where you could feel what I'm feeling,
and I could make you feel what I wanted you
to feel in that moment as well. Those are important
(07:09):
to prove on that night. And also, and this is
just more more important to me than anybody else, But
that was the one of the first times that my
mother had come to watch a show, and I think
I'm pretty convinced to this day that I'm sure she
had thought. Up until that point, I was paying my
(07:33):
way out to Japan every trip that I was just
going out there to hang out.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
I was losing all.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
My money, probably involved in loan sharks to pay for
these these plane tickets.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Wasn't getting paid anything.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
For her to be able to be there and see
that and to feel like, oh, you know, my son's
actually okay. You know, he's the thing that he said
he was doing is a job, actually is a real job,
and you know he actually is employed by this place.
He's he's doing a pretty good job at doing it.
Even though I lost that match, it was it was
(08:07):
good to put their minds at ease, right, And so yeah,
that was a it was a really big weight to
bear for for that match, especially, But then when it
became a thing, every match that happened thereon after exponentially
became more and more difficult. And I always wonder, like,
(08:33):
going going back, like how did I do it? Like
not just not just the actual execution of it, but
how did I handle that pressure?
Speaker 2 (08:43):
I don't know, because.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
I mean, just I'm no stranger, maybe because of the
way that I conduct myself, or just the fact that
I I wasn't someone that was manufactured by machine for
whatever reason, that by default causes for a lot of
people to hope for my downfall, and they like to
see me fail and to have so many people all
(09:10):
around you hoping for you to flounder, hoping for you
to screw up, hoping for you to be out in
the streets. It those are situations where either rise up
and become something that you didn't even see yourself capable of,
(09:30):
or you just fall to the pressure. Used to come
to the pressure, and I wasn't sure, you know, in sports,
leading up to that point, I'd always saw myself as
someone who did well in the face of pressure. But
wrestling is there's so much more that goes into a performance.
(09:51):
Like I said before, you know, there's a matter of
if a match is good, great, that's fantastic. But did
we our tickets? How is the merchandise? Do we have
something that we can move forward with that can bear fruit?
There are so many other factors that go into play,
(10:13):
and you have to sort of hit a home run
across the board. This was kind of why I was saying,
it has to be a Grand Slam. It can't just
be a home run like all across all fronts. You
have to have seen a success and yeah, how how
I was able to pull that off?
Speaker 2 (10:34):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
That's why I say it, and it comes from a
place of earnest. I don't recognize that person when I
see footage back, just that.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
That confidence and that that.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I don't know what that what I was on, man,
but yeah, I guess I had something to prove, and
thankfully that the focus was primarily and possibly only solely
on that.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
And there was never a fear of failure.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
I don't think if I remembering back, I know everyone
wanted me to fail, but I never feared it for myself.
And maybe that even speaks to Okada's talents as well.
It is because it's like, man, it's Okada, and you
know he he was just the guy that was having
(11:28):
incredible matches with everyone up and down the card. So
I felt like, even at its worst, it's probably still
going to be a pretty good match.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
You know.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Did I think it would make history, that I think
people would talk about it outside of New Japan? Or
did I think that somehow, you know, there would be
ties to the current aw with that, And I didn't know.
I didn't didn't know anything.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
I was just.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
For me. It was just I wanted to do everything
that I could for this the state of global professional wrestling.
I wanted to show the beauty of of multicultural professional wrestling,
as odd as that may sound, you know, I love
(12:13):
Japanese strong style, but you know, I love the world
of sports style in the UK. I love literally, I
love I love American you know, showbiz style. It's it's all.
It all has its place, it's all really important, it's all.
I've been entertained by all of it. And Yeah, in
a way, I sort of feel like back then with
(12:35):
Bullet Club and what we had done with it, and
then moving forward with the Elite that was sort of
already like a dry run of what AW was. So Yeah,
for us to find success in that, I think was
really sort of proving grounds for AW was a concept
to know that we would if we existed in a
(12:57):
world where there was US as an option and on TV,
that we could do well.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Yeah, and clearly it has been because it's still on
TV many years later.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
AW every week and of course you've got.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Dyna see this weekend and when you think about it,
you talk about Okata, you ended his long IWGP title ring,
you beat Osprey at Wrestle Kingdom, and now you're back
in this huge chapter with MJF this weekend when it's
all said and done and they're telling the stories of
Kenny Omega years from now, which rivalry do you think
defined you the most.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of people sort
of default to the Ocado one, and I understand why.
But I would say that for fans that were primarily
(13:57):
New Japan fans, they also would argue that they've really
enjoyed my series of matches that I had with Nizo,
they really enjoyed the series of matches I had with Ishi.
And for a lot of people, and again it depends
(14:18):
on how it is that you first came across seeing
me or what have you.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Some of the people know me.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
More because of the Golden Lover stuff, which is also fantastic,
And I think that was some of the most proud
storytelling that I've ever done in my career, because that
was all the onus was all on us to continue
that story forward and to always sort of implant that
in the things we had done when maybe the promoters
(14:48):
or the bookers didn't see the value in it. You know,
we had always sort of wanted to not insult the
fans intelligence, and regardless of what promotion we were in,
we wanted to show that there was this interconnectivity and
that there are these human emotions and that you know,
life doesn't end just because of promotion changes. You know,
relationships don't end because of promotion changes. And it was
(15:12):
cool that we could see this multiple promotion spanning storyline
that took about geez like a decade to see like
the Grand Finale too, and to be able to be
at the forefront of an actual, real, long term story
(15:33):
that where the onus was completely on us to tell. Yeah,
I mean for me, that's that's that's a real pride
accomplishment for sure.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Yeah. Absolutely, Well. I know that we're kind of coming
up here towards the end of our interview because you've
got some other things to do, especially prepare for this
big match against MJF where you did put up against
your EVP status on the line for this title. Last
question I have for you because this has been taking
the story the internet by storm, and I have to ask,
because we've all seen the video was running in the
(16:03):
Red October's worth it increasing them?
Speaker 1 (16:08):
You know. Here's the thing, man, So the Bucks are
super into shoe culture or may not know, and I'm
just sort of attached to them as like the wingman
type of guy. So I see, like, damn, it's cool,
(16:29):
you got such cool shoes of the time. I sometimes
have a hard time matching without fits and et cetera,
et cetera, et cetera. So I'm gonna start to buy
shoes too. If you guys go out, I'll just go
with you. And if there's a color that I don't
have or need or whatever, if I see something that's
kind of nice, I'll get it. And I had done
some work with this company and they had some super
(16:55):
cool collapse and it's called bait, and I was always
wearing their shirts and they always did really interesting collaborations
a lot of times, like you know, Marvel, DC, some
anime stuff too, So I thought like, man, I would
love to wear your stuff just all the time, just
you casually or whatever on TV. I'll wear it too.
(17:17):
And then they just kind of blew up. They became
a big thing. And I remember going to their head
offices and they had said like, hey, Kenny, you know
you've done stuff for us, this pro bono just because
you enjoyed our you know, the things that we've created,
and we never gave you any money or paid you anything.
(17:37):
And I said he didn't have to, Like, I just
enjoy your clothing. It's all good.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Stuff.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
I said, yeah, we get it. This is but you know,
if there's something that you like in the store, you know,
we would love for you to take it. So I said, okay,
So I saw these shoes and it's not what you're
thinking because they weren't the red Octobers. But I saw
(18:02):
these shoes. They're looking pretty nice, and I said, well,
I don't have a colorway like this yet. So I
felt bad, but I was like, you know what, like this,
these are pretty funky. And they're like, okay, yeah, absolutely
you can't. He goes, well, what about these guys, and
in point of the red Octobers, I said, ah, I said, yeah,
(18:24):
it's cool, weird, like off red color. I don't have
anything like that, you know. Uh, I don't think I'll
ever have anything like that. It's kind of neat. And
I was like, yeah, this is I don't know if
I like them more than these guys though, And they're
like really and I said yeah, and they're like, well,
(18:48):
you know what, how a would you just take them both?
Speaker 2 (18:50):
I said, wow, okay, geez, what a deal. And you
know it, when it came to.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Just like all right, we got a couple of TV
appearances and you know, I don't plan on wearing a
suit or anything, but you know, should.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
I wear like a new pair of shoes or you
know what happened?
Speaker 1 (19:13):
He's like, Okay, yeah, I'll wear new pair of shoes,
and yeah, I wear these things. And before I even
went out, the bucks were like whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
Like what is that what I think that they are?
And I said, I what is what is what are
we talking about? And they said, and I think it
(19:34):
was Nick that I was saying, it's like, Matt, check
this out and he's like he's got the red October's
and he's like, there's no way you bought those.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
I said, no, I.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Didn't, and they're like, well, yeah, I didn't think you would.
And I said, yeah, there's I said, what are you
talking about here? Guys like what's going on? And they
started to pull up like the stock X prices where
I was like whoa. I said, this was like one
of the greatest thank you gifts I'd ever received, with
like unknowingly so unbeknownst to me, here I am with
(20:06):
these legendary shoes and not utilizing them in probably the
best way. But it's because I was a poser. I'm
a fraud. I'm just kind of trying to get shoes
just so I have different colors. It's not because I
actually know a darned thing about them. But that's the
story of how I procured the Red Octobers without.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
Even knowing the legend behind them.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
Such a great story, for sure. I mean, we could
sit here and talk stories all day long about shoes
and wrestling, but I know you've got a busy schedule
getting ready for Dynasty this weekend. Before we let you go,
anything you wanted to say to the fans watching or
listening to this right.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Now, Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
You know, I don't get a chance to do too
many interviews, whether it be because of schedule or you know,
every time that I get a chunk of time, I'm
usually trying to fill it up with some sort of
auxiliary work that I can do that probably leads me
to So it's really cool that I'm able to get
on here with you guys.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Say a few words, share a few stories.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
I think that Red October one is maybe the first
time EVE ever been able to tell that story. So
if people found it interesting, if they had a fun
time fantastic, and I will see everybody at the pay
per view and hopefully beyond, and maybe next time I'll
have the belt as well, just like the one that
you have above your head.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Whatever kind of belt that is, I can't tell, but.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
That is our podcast belt that we have it is
there we go.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, So next time, what we'll have.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
To do is I'll have to buy one of the
aw title belts. We'll put it back here behind me.
You come on with your belt and I'll put mine
back there, so we'll have fun.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
There we go. Yeah, yeah, you do trade.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
Absolutely well, Kenny. It's an honor and or pretty much
to have you on the show. We look forward to
this Sunday, we look forward to seeing you win that
title BTMJF and we're excited to have you back on
the show very very soon.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Again, fantastic, Thank you so much.
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