AEW: Kenny Omega on Misses The Days When He Was Just a Wrestler, Jon Moxley on “A Lot Of People Think They Want To Be The Guy, But They Don’t”, Bobby Lashley

Oct 30, 2024

Kenny Omega Comments on Balancing Being Wrestler and Having Office Role with AEW & Misses When He Was Just a Wrestler

New Japan Pro Wrestling held a recent interview with Kenny Omega. One of the topics discussed included Omega’s thoughts about balancing being a wrestler and having an office role with AEW and misses the days when he was just a wrestler.

“I would never wish it upon anybody else in the world. Trust me (Omega said about being a wrestler & having an office role). I miss those days of rolling up to an arena with just my carry case. My little bag that just had my gear in it and focusing on that match, that one performance, the performance was just about me, and instead, I’m at the arena days before trying to figure out, ‘How are we gonna make this work? How do we make this guy’s entrance work? How do we make sure all of the entrance videos are formatted? How do we make sure that the extras and the talents are fed? How do we make sure that they’re healthy? How do we make sure that we keep them healthy? What do we do if something goes wrong?’ I mean, there’s always — it’s a balancing act of a million things and if you’re not 100 percent confident in your wrestling ability and if you’re not completely dedicated and passionate, not only about the success of what you do out there but the success of the entire company and maybe even the state of professional wrestling, you can’t do it. It’s a terrible undertaking, and as much as The Young Bucks have betrayed me as of recently, I couldn’t have done it without them. It was really a group effort. But, (Hiroshi) Tanahashi now doing it all by himself with the help of a lot of talented group of people here. I understand the burden that it weighs on him and for him to still be an active professional wrestler, for him to still be in any title picture is nothing short of a miracle. It really allowed for me to step back now that I’m resting from a serious illness and I’m thinking, man, was it all of this on the same plate? Is that what drove me to being this way? The answer’s probably yeah. Short answer of that. But I mean, I did it for the state of wrestling and I did it because I wanted to help people, help fans. I just wanted to help unite people all over the world, lovers of professional wrestling. People that have never watched wrestling and maybe could find a love for it and you know, did I sacrifice a bit of my physical and mental health for it? Sure. But yeah, I’m still standing and I think it’s much like Tanahashi, it’s a passion that fuels us.”

Omega also gave his thoughts about what has been happening in AEW since his absence.

“Knowing just the weight that was on my shoulders of being the position that I was in for that company [AEW], here we had someone [Okada] that took everything out of me, everything, it took every ounce of my being to finally defeat for a major belt in this company, and he’s coming here 100%, with only the wrestling to have to worry about. I looked at that man as a monster, and I can’t lie, I was scared. I can’t face this guy as current Kenny Omega. So maybe by the Young Bucks putting me out and allowing me to step back and refocus on bringing myself back as the wrestler that I know that I can be, taking the mental burden away of being an EVP, just for a little bit, to focus on what is it that I have to do to get back to that level, I feel like the ghost of my past and the skeletons in my closet have all followed me back to this stage, and although getting sick in the way that I did set me back almost a year now, it’s almost a blessing in disguise because it really allows you to assess things in a different way, and it allows you to prioritize the things you should be prioritizing, and I feel that when I do come back, I can come back with a clear head space and possibly be a top-flight performer again.”

Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com, Fightful.com

Jon Moxley Comments on “A Lot Of People Think They Want To Be The Guy, But They Don’t”

News Herald held a recent interview with Jon Moxley. One of the topics discussed included Moxley’s thoughts about what it takes to be the top guy in AEW and his belief that many people think they want to be that top guy but they actually don’t because of all the work that is needed for it.

“This piece of metal goes from one suitcase to another, and there’s some paperwork filed, but, basically, nothing has changed. I’ve always been the guy in that position for AEW. That’s not something you can just win in a match or a job you apply for. It’s something you either are or you aren’t. It’s the chair I sit in until someone cuts my head off and takes my position.
A lot of people think they want that position and think that’s the guy they want to be, but they don’t. Some of the biggest names – really big stars and talented people – want to be that, but they don’t know what that entails. The actual work that goes into being that guy is not nearly as glamorous as it seems. It’s not a position of glory. It’s not sitting on the hood of a car going down the street in a parade getting confetti thrown on me. You have to be in the ditch, in the foxhole. You have to get dirt under your fingernails. You’re not doing it for yourself. That’s something a lot of people who think they want to be in that position will never understand.”

Bobby Lashley Comments on “MVP Tells Me Tony Khan Is A Good Dude Who Thinks People Deserve To Carry On In AEW”

A recent episode of The Lame Guys Podcast featured former WWE talent Bobby Lashley as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Lashley’s thoughts about MVP joining AEW and the potential of him joining MVP in the future.

“You think they have enough money for me? [Laughs] MVP is great. The one thing I know with Tony Khan, and this is one thing I’ve seen that’s really cool. The fans need to understand this because sometimes the fans come out and say, ‘They’re just getting old WWE guys.’ With any show, you need your guys that are established to help establish some guys that aren’t. MVP coming over brings a lot of notoriety and a fanbase and a level starting that they can use. Some of the guys there are fantastic wrestlers, they just need to be in the ring with certain (talent). If you put a fantastic wrestler in the ring with another fantastic wrestler and just try to sell the match, it’s hard because people are like, ‘Oh, well, they just did some cool stuff.’ Once you start mixing in different people like Daniel Bryan [Bryan Danielson], Edge [Adam Copeland], Christian, Samoa Joe, those guys get a good rub off of them.
What Tony Khan is doing, I’m still friends with MVP and I talk with him about going over there, I said, ‘How is it over there?’ The one thing people say when they are over there is ‘Tony Khan is a really good dude.’ He is genuinely saying to people over there, ‘You deserve to still carry on.’ Edge was being pushed down and he was like, ‘I took time off, I was able to get cleared. I wanted to come here. I still have something left in the tank. I want to have fun and go do it. I don’t want it to be stressful, I want to be able to do it.’ Tony Khan came in and said, ‘You deserve to, you’re a legend in this business. You can help us out, we can help you out and supplement your income for the next few years.’ That’s what they did. That’s what MVP is doing also. He got pulled off TV early, had been off TV, and got back on. I saw the promo he cut, it was an awesome promo. He told a good story. He can carry on, make some money for them, and escalate some of their guys.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com