Hotseat: Kenny Omega

MAYBE THE DANCING girls who accompany Kenny Omega to the ring should put down those brooms and give him a hand carrying all that gold.

“The Cleaner” has amassed one of the most impressive championship collections in wrestling history, simultaneously holding the AEW World title, the AAA Mega title, and, most recently, the Impact World title—having beaten Rich Swann in April.

Figuratively speaking, the only thing that Omega may wear more than belts is hats. In addition to being the top titleholder in three different wrestling companies, Omega has many other duties as executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling, including helping produce matches and promos, leading the effort to launch AEW’s first video game, and brokering the deals with other wrestling promoters that allowed him the opportunity to win all that gold.

With that much on his plate, you might think Omega’s in-ring contributions would suffer. But you’d be wrong. In fact, following a somewhat unremarkable freshman year in AEW, Omega has looked like the “Best Bout Machine” of old as of late, thrilling audiences with astounding athleticism in recent title matches with Swann, Jon Moxley, and Rey Fenix.

But, as impressive as his signature V-Trigger and One-Winged Angel look, Omega would be the first to tell you that it’s his knack for storytelling, and not necessarily his wrestling ability, that has put him in the conversation of all-time greats—as evidenced by his recent induction into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame.

And, with Don Callis, the Good Brothers, and the Young Bucks all by his side, Omega has weaved quite the tale lately, as he continues busting through “forbidden doors” and posing a potential threat to wrestling champions around the globe.

Days before his most recent championship victory at Impact’s Rebellion pay-per-view, Omega spoke with PWI Senior Writer Al Castle about his quest for gold … and for greatness.

The last time I spoke with you was about four years ago for a “Hotseat” interview. I remember it was the middle of the night because you were in “500” for that year. I don’t think we even had you in the top 10. I remember being kind of taken aback, like, Now, all these years later, you’ve been number one in the “500.” Looking back, why did stuff like that matter to you as much as it did?