Kenny Omega recently announced he’s stepping away from NJPW. Could he make a surprise appearance in the 2017 WWE Royal Rumble?
Kenny Omega is one of the faces of NJPW. He consistently puts on incredible matches and is one of NJPW’s biggest assets in terms of making them a well-known promotion around the world. Most recently he put on a classic with Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kindom 11, a match that was rated six stars by Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Yes, six. But after a tweet Omega sent out early Friday morning, fans are wondering what’s next.
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
Of course, this could be nothing. One of wrestling fans’ favorite past times is looking too deeply into things. And honestly, while seeing Omega in the Royal Rumble would be amazing, most signs point to it not happening. This is most likely a case of Omega legitimately taking some time of because he’s earned it and because it makes sense in the storyline. He failed to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the biggest and best match of his life, so he probably needs time to collect himself. Not to mention that NJPW would be highly unlikely to let Omega go without a more proper sendoff. Is the leader of the Bullet Club really going to leave the promotion that made him who he is without a word? Probably not.
AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura both received appropriate sendoffs before making their way to WWE. Nakamura was given the ring to himself to give an emotional goodbye to NJPW. Styles’ farewell was less sentimental, but it was appropriate nonetheless. He was kicked out of Bullet Club by Omega and friends and was beaten to a pulp. But by putting him in such an impactful segment as a way to close out his career in Japan, NJPW showed they know how to send off their stars. Although Omega just had a six-star match, he’s unlikely to walk away without providing his fans with something more..
But crazier things have happened. The timing of this announcement makes it difficult to not at least wonder if Omega will be appearing at the WWE PPV made famous for featuring surprise debuts and returns. After all, just last year we saw one of, if not the biggest attraction in NJPW make his debut by entering third in the Royal Rumble match. Granted, Styles was properly sent off before then. And news had previously broken about his potential move to WWE. But still, nobody saw it coming at that exact point in time. The same could happen for the man that so many want to see in a WWE ring, Kenny Omega.
We learned in 2016 not to rule anything out in the world of professional wrestling. We’re talking about a year that saw three members of Bullet Club debut in WWE, Matt Hardy become the hottest act across any promotion, the return of Shane McMahon and the brand split, and so much more that it would take an entirely separate article to go through everything. The chances of Omega debuting in the Royal Rumble are slim to say the least. But WWE is the biggest promotion in the world and Kenny Omega is one of the best wrestlers in the world. It would be foolish to rule it out entirely.
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