Kenny Omega Opens Up on WWE and TNA Not Collaborating With AEW (Exclusive)

Kenny Omega is aiming to recapture the AEW World Championship this coming weekend, as he faces Maxwell Jacob Friedman in the main event of AEW Dynasty. Of course, he's not the only one who was eager to face MJF in the coming weeks.

MJF had been scheduled to wrestle TNA star Nic Nemeth at a Create-A-Pro wrestling live event, supporting the school that the AEW World Champion is a graduate of. However, it was revealed this week that the match, alongside a Ricochet and Leon Slater match at another show WrestleMania week, will no longer be happening due to "partner conflicts" (TNA and WWE are partners in a multi-year agreement).

While MJF and others have blasted TNA president Carlos Silva for the decision, Omega has his own thoughts on the situation. Speaking with The Takedown on SI, he noted he was disappointed by the unwillingness to collaborate.

"If you're in a bubble for too long and you failed to realize what exists outside your bubble and how small your bubble is, and in this case, we're talking about professional wrestling, I think you start to run into problems like this where someone will think that they're better than somebody else, and that there is no reason to work together, and they don't see the upside," Omega said.

"They can only look at the negatives and the downsides. And I still think that we're in a place where professional wrestling can still be more than what it is. And I do think that if there were situations where we could all play nice with each other, then I really do think that business as a whole would move in towards more of a positive direction, we'd see more of a positive trend."

Omega was a master of collaboration

TNA President Carlos Silva caught the ire of MJF and others for the decision to pull talent. | TNA Wrestling - The Takedown on SI

The 42-year-old "Best Bout Machine" broke out on the scene about a decade ago, with a dominant run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, ultimately paving the way for him to become a building block of AEW.

During that time, Omega was part of active collaborations between NJPW and Ring of Honor, and, once with AEW, would even become the TNA World Champion (then known as Impact Wrestling).

He tells The Takedown on SI that he recognizes that satisfying stakeholders these days could lead to problems.

"I understand with the amount of money that's at play, that's a very sensitive subject and a very sensitive issue," he said. "And if we get to a point where we're starting to cross-promote or we're having wrestlers wrestle against talent affiliated with WWE, for example, it becomes a sensitive topic as to how do we promote that? Who wins? Who loses?"

"And I don't say that, specifically as a who wins, who loses on paper, but I mean, who wins, who loses as a promotion? Who's going to come out looking like the stronger promotion, who's going to come out looking like they gained something from this scenario?"

Finding solutions with WWE, TNA, and AEW

Ever the optimist, Omega believes there could be a world where common ground could be found among the major promotions.

"I do think that at the end of the day, if everyone were to really just sit down and figure out a way to make it happen, it's more than doable. We've seen it in other sports, other forms of media. This isn't just a thing that's unique to professional wrestling," he said.

Omega noted how DC and Marvel have worked together in the past to create crossovers between the likes of Superman and Spider-Man, even if, in theory, they should have wanted each other to go out of business.

"But maybe you could also make something really cool by having two forces that you never would see share a screen team up or face each other. I have always been maybe a little bit unrealistic in that realm of thought, but I've always been at least willing to always entertain that if there was ever an opportunity to do so."

The No. 1 contender also said that if the opportunity ever arose, he would actively pitch more high-level collaborations to Tony Khan.

"I really do think that with how passionately I do feel about working together with everybody and anybody, that I think Tony would hear me out and also entertain the idea as well," he said. "I think it'd be great for fans, and I think at the end of the day, too, it's only a net-positive for all of professional wrestling."

If you use any quotes from this piece, please H/T The Takedown on SI.