5 best Kenny Omega matches of PWI year 2020-21
Kenny Omega added yet another accolade to his resume this week when he was crowned the #1 wrestler on Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 - a list which ranks the top wrestlers of a given year. Omega was ranked at the top for his work between July 1st, 2020 to June 30th, 2021.
It was an exceptional year for The Cleaner where he silenced many of his critics who claimed that Omega had not been delivering the same quality of work that he did in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Kenny Omega started the time period as AEW World Tag Team Champion with brilliant doubles action alongside Hangman Page. However, Omega truly hit his stride when he abandoned Page following this loss of the title and turned heel. His cocky demeanor has quickly become one of his staples during his current AEW World Championship reign.
More than his personality, Kenny Omega has put on some truly marvelous in-ring performances against a wide variety of competitors across three different promotions, which helps him stand out among the pack of great wrestlers in the industry today. In this article, let's take a look at the five best Kenny Omega matches of PWI year 2020-21.
#5 Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley in an Exploding Barbwire Death Match for the AEW World Championship (AEW Revolution 2021)
Kenny Omega defeated Jon Moxley to win the AEW World Championship on the "Winter Is Coming" special episode of Dynamite on December 2nd, 2020. The Cleaner completed his heel turn and aligned with Don Callis to win. From there, Omega reunited with Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows of The Good Brothers from IMPACT Wrestling.
Jon Moxley set out on a vengeance tear against Omega and his crew, but it was the AEW World Champion who decided the stipulation for their return match. In a shocking decision, Kenny Omega announced that their rematch at Revolution 2021 will be an Exploding Barbwire Death Match.
The bout was a completely unique spectacle that hadn't been seen by a mainstream American wrestling audience. The aura was that fans would see something that they hadn't seen before. It was a physically intense and bloody affair with Moxley and Omega putting their bodies on the line to live up to all the expectations.
The battle was brutal and fitted the stipulation, with both men bleeding and taking the barbwired explosions to their backs, chests and faces. Kenny Omega went to Jon Moxley's ballpark and took things to the extreme. The Good Brothers interfered to help Omega win. If it wasn't for the dud explosion at the end, many fans would be talking about this being one of the best matches of the year.