NJPW News: Kenny Omega talks about Chris Jericho's ruthless side, the main appeal to the Alpha-Omega rivalry and more
What's the story?
Bullet Club leader and current IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, Kenny Omega, recently sat down with Rolling Stone to talk about his upcoming clash against Chris Jericho, whom he will face at next year's Wrestle Kingdom 12 event.
In case you didn't know...
Nine-time WWE Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho made his grand return to NJPW earlier this year, at the Power Struggle show and challenged Kenny Omega to a match at Wrestle Kingdom 12 for the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship.
However, earlier this week, Chris Jericho finally made his presence felt in Japan as he blindsided Kenny Omega and attacked "The Cleaner" during the World Tag League finals. Jericho would go on to hit two Codebreakers on Omega and busted him wide open after a hit with the US Title.
Omega also decided to heat things up a bit and attacked Jericho the very next day during a press conference as the two Wrestle Kingdom 12 opponents brawled, before being separated by officials and fellow NJPW superstars.
The heart of the matter
During the interview with RollingStone, Omega talked about numerous topics regarding his match against Chris Jericho at the Tokyo Dome in 2018. Here are some highlights:
Omega claimed that he is not a big fan of telling stories inside the ring but instead likes to tell stories that people haven't seen before. The Bullet Club leader stated that his rivalry with Jericho is original and "The Cleaner" also praised his opponent, Chris Jericho, by saying that only a guy like him can pull off stuff like this. According to Omega, the goal currently is to build up the IWGP US Title and also to have fun during this feud against Chris Jericho.
Omega stated that his rivalry against Jericho is somewhat similar to the rivalry between Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage.
"Yeah, it is a little Hogan/Macho Man, with [color commentator] Don Callis playing the role of Elizabeth. [Laughs]," said Omega.
The former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion stated that the match-up has now become a cool topic of discussion not only among Jericho fans but also among people who have followed Kenny Omega's career thoroughly.
"A lot of our new New Japan fans have just started watching from 2012 onward, so they don't even know who Chris Jericho is, but they do understand he's a huge megastar, and they can only go with what they see every time he makes an appearance or what I tell them," added Omega.
What's next?
"The Cleaner's" next goal is to successfully defend his US Championship against "The Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla" at the Tokyo Dome in 2018. If Omega manages to win his Wrestle Kingdom 12 match, then it will be his first victory at NJPW's annual Tokyo Dome show for the first time since Wrestle Kingdom 9.
Author's Take
The build-up to the Alpha-Omega match has been absolutely tremendous and there is no doubt that both Jericho and Omega will live up to the expectations and put on a classic match at Wrestle Kingdom 12.