NJPW News: Kenny Omega not featured on NJPW's New Beginning cards
What's the story?
On January 10th, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) released the official match card for their upcoming New Beginning shows. Surprisingly none of the two cards features, the hottest pro-wrestler in the business, Kenny Omega.
In case you didn't know...
New Beginning in Sapporo and New Beginning in Osaka are the next two events after NJPW's New Year Dash. The events will feature nine matches, four of which will be for the championships.
Omega's Wrestle Kingdom 11 opponent, Kazuchika Okada, will be facing the returning Minoru Suzuki for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Omega is nowhere near the title scene right now.
The heart of the matter
The night after his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 11, Kenny Omega tweeted out the message below.
I will be stepping away from Japan to reassess my future. The path of my journey may change, but my goals will not. pic.twitter.com/E4vDiGgAwe
— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) January 6, 2017
Omega's tweet threw everyone in the pro-wrestling industry into a frenzy, with speculations arising, whether Omega would be going to the WWE, as the company had been approaching him with offers since 2014.
On January 9th, WWE Superstar John Cena, posted Omega's picture on his Instagram account, thus generating more speculations about Omega's shift to the WWE.
However, during an interview with Sports Illustrated, Omega said that he had not signed any contracts yet, and was still assessing his options.
“After such a huge loss, I didn’t want to just hang around and take part in meaningless matches. I’m only interested in changing the business, so I’m thinking carefully about what’s next.”
What's next?
Omega's NJPW contract expires on the 31st of January, so even if Omega signs with the WWE, he won't be appearing in the Royal Rumble match. On the other hand, NJPW officials don’t seem the least bit worried, as they have full faith in Omega. The promotion believes that he’s not going anywhere, and is just having some fun with his fans.
This Friday, Omega will be appearing as a guest on WWE Superstar Chris Jericho’s podcast Talk is Jericho, and chances are, Jericho might end up asking him about his plans for the future.
Sportskeeda's take
Once Omega or New Japan or the WWE, release any official word regarding this issue, we’ll be sure to report it as soon as possible. The video below shows highlights from Omega’s match against Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 11:
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