Kenny Omega: ‘Things fell off the rails’ leading into AEW All Out fight

For the first time since last September’s All Out fight that saw him get put on suspension, former AEW World Champion Kenny Omega opened up about the situation — one he feels was preventable — in addition to the strange vibe he felt about AEW when he returned last August.

Omega appeared on Renee Paquette’s The Sessions for nearly an hour Tuesday.

He said that when he left in November 2021 to deal with his various injuries, he felt AEW was in a really good place and that when he returned in August 2022, he felt like Donald Glover in the famous GIF where he shows up with pizza and the entire room is on fire.

“I didn’t get it. I was like, ‘What is with this strange atmosphere? What is with this strange aura? Why does something feel so ominous right now?’ I didn’t know and couldn’t figure it out. Next you knew, there was more stuff happening,” he said.

Omega said he hasn’t yet got himself re-familiarized backstage with what he called “the new AEW” at that point with all the new faces and all the changes since he was gone. He felt an eerie feeling and then, “Stranger things started happening. ‘Oh man. What do I do? This isn’t right. Someone needs to be the voice of reason. This is silly.'”

The fight

From there, “things fell off the rails. We were just involved in a very silly situation that people are probably going to be talking about for months and possibly years to come.”

Omega said that anyone that has been involved in competitive sports and/or combat sports has dealt with situations where there are conflicts that are often worked out and sometimes even after a fight. He felt there was a point in which that could have happened, but soon came to realize this wasn’t like high school football or someone in jiujitsu training.

“It’s a shame the general public and a lot of people aren’t ever going to know how it went down or how it could have been prevented or how it could have ended differently,” Omega said, “I don’t think anyone is happy that how it happened, or is proud that it happened. I think across the board, everyone thinks it was a terrible situation that was unnecessary.”

He said since the issue, the atmosphere has cleared up backstage but that it was hard after the incident because people were forced to form their own opinions and theories and they were unable to speak on it because they were sworn to secrecy legally.

He felt that led to people leaning on the side and story of whoever they were a fan of when in reality, it could have been a combination of various theories, 

While he said those involved may never get to speak about it, he is happy and thankful that no one was seriously injured and that he’s moved on with life.

“(The fight) doesn’t dictate what I do or what I say. I’m sure the (Young) Bucks are in same boat. I can’t speak to the other parties. Hopefully they are doing well and I mean that.”

The future

Omega didn’t give any hint to his future or his contract situation when asked, but the first thing that pops into his head in the next stage of his career is to be able to advise those with so much ahead of them to realize their potential sooner than he was able to.

He said he doesn’t really have goals or aspirations at this stage like he did in his younger days when he was motivated to win the G1 or IWGP Champion or match of the year. That has made him question his situation at times and if he is being ungrateful or wasting his time.

The barbed wire death match debacle

He also discussed one thing that stands out as something that didn’t end up as he liked: the end of his barbed wire death match with Jon Moxley where the explosions fizzled at the grand finale.

Omega said he was so proud of of the match and that it never popped into his head there would be an issue with the pyro as that wasn’t in his control. In the moment, he said he gave the entire situation the benefit of the doubt because it was a windy day in Jacksonville, but that changed when he learned the real reason: a last-minute change by the head of the pyro company who hadn’t been there for any rehearsals.

“I wish we would have done what we practiced,” he said.

Omega said he remembers walking to the back and not wanting to show any emotion until he got around the Bucks or people familiar with the situation. He said he saw Jerry Lynn who pleaded with him to not go off. Omega said the most upsetting part was not knowing who to blame but that he felt back for Eddie Kingston, Moxley and even himself. 

He learned that it made him want to rely on as little people as possible in matches going forward other than those directly involved, but that he liked everything that happened in the match other than the finale.