Kenny Omega reveals reaction to claiming top spot on PWI 500 list
What's the story?
The IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega has said he is "very happy" to be ranked #1 on this year's Pro Wrestling Illustrated's top 500 list.
In case you didn't know
The Pro Wrestling Illustrated's 500 list is an annual list, celebrating the top 500 wrestlers in the world.
This year's rankings were determined from wrestler's performances from July 31, 2017 to June 30, 2018.
This year, Kenny Omega took the top spot, with reigning WWE Champion AJ Styles taking 2nd, Kazuchika Okada 3rd, and former Universal Champion Brock Lesnar taking 4th place.
Roman Reigns, who captured the top spot in 2016 came 7th, with former WWE superstar Cody coming 8th.
The heart of the matter.
The news was broken to Omega during a recording of the Ross Report, where he was interviewed by WWE Hall of Famer, Jim Ross.
"That’s not the news I expected to hear early in the morning,” Omega said after a moment of reflection. “I’m very happy to hear. It’s quite the honor. Thank you."
Omega continued to thank those responsible for the decision, before saying how there is plenty more to come.
"There's still the G1. There’s the Jericho cruise (Chris Jericho’s Rock ’n’ Wrestling Rager at Sea in October). There are a lot of cool things that are yet to happen this year.”
The decision to award Omega the top spot comes after an impressive year for the Canadian, including highlights such as defeating Chris Jericho in January and ending the 720-day reign of Kazuchika Okada as IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
The feud between Omega and Okada has been praised by fans and people within the business, alike.
What's next?
The full list of the 2018 PWI 500 can be viewed in the latest edition of Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
It can also be found for purchase online at www.pwi-online.com