Jim Ross On Where He Expects Kenny Omega To End Up, What WWE Has To Do If They Want To Sign Him
On episode 152 of The Ross Report, legendary professional wrestling broadcaster Jim Ross talked about Kenny Omega's abrupt departure from Japan following his defeat at Wrestle Kingdom 11 at the hands of IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuckika Okada. Ross said that Omega taking a break makes sense and that he expects 'The Cleaner' to return to New Japan Pro-Wrestling and win the title this summer.
"He didn't win the biggest match of his life, he didn't win the title in the main event, but he had a career-altering match that people'll talk about for years to come. That's a hell of [an] accomplishment." Ross continued, "and I would say Kenny will be back to win the IWGP Heavyweight title from Kazuckika Okada probably in the early summer. I think Kenny Omega will be the champion when the New Japan promotion tours Southern California in early July. That's just my assumption."
In Ross' view, WWE must be willing to give Omega the chance to be "the guy" if the company is interested in signing Omega.
"If WWE has Kenny Omega on their radar, and I would assume that they do. How could they not? Omega's contract is allegedly going to be up with New Japan on January 31, so he will not be at the Royal Rumble, no matter what John Cena's Instagram may have inferred, which was very clever by John, by the way. That got a pop out of me. I liked it. But Omega's the kind of guy that if you're thinking of hiring, you've got to come with the right money offer. And the other C. We talked cash. Now, we talk creative. He's going to want to know, 'how are you going to book me?'; 'how are you going to present me?'; 'what will be my lot in life on television creative?' because it starts and ends right there. 'Will I have the opportunity to contribute to my own creative?' But in the mean time, what is your big picture goal, WWE title, to main event WrestleMania? There [are] specific tentpoles you can ask about, so I think that's what he's going have to hear and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
"I mean, gosh, why would you hire a guy that's really a high level talent without having a game plan about how you're going to use him? Sort of seems logical to me. So I think Kenny Omega will stay with New Japan right now, but I also don't know how much of the full court press the WWE might make to get him to not sign after the end of January and give them the opportunity to get in the hunt, so we'll see. We'll see. I just think it'll take more than money, it's going to take money and a comfortable, better put, more challenging creative position. Kenny Omega wants to be the guy. Are you willing to give him the opportunity to be the guy? And it's easy to say, 'well, everybody [that] comes here gets the opportunity to be the guy.' No, they don't. No, they don't. And that's not a sin, by the way. Everybody doesn't deserve the opportunity to be the guy because they aren't the guy. Ask them. They'll tell you."
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Source: The Ross Report