In recent weeks, there has been much speculation about Kenny Omega’s future in AEW or with WWE, as his contract was set to expire in late January. Omega’s contract has been extended to compensate for the time he was out with injuries, according to Dave Meltzer, but it’s unclear how much longer he has on the extended time.
Wade Keller discussed Omega’s potential WWE move during a PWTorch audio show.
“I haven’t independently verified rumors of WWE being interested in Omega,” Keller said. “I have confirmed they’re aware of Omega’s open-mindedness to come to WWE. That’s what I’ve been told. That he’s open-minded to landing in WWE before his career is over. The attitude is not ‘I love AEW, I’m gonna stay here forever.’ That is not apparently the belief within WWE. They don’t believe that’s Kenny’s mindset at this point.”
Keller added, “Omega is valued within WWE from what I can ascertain by people whose opinions count. But he is not seen at this stage as a wrestler who is so good in the ring that they are just gonna do anything to get him. I think that they are very happy with their roster. I think that they have a lot of great wrestlers who are at Kenny’s level. Kenny would be a good addition. I know there is curiosity and intrigue about what they could do with him if they were able to direct him a little bit better because his character work in 3+ years of Dynamite has not been particularly compelling…”
Keller continued by claiming that there is something there as a result of his popularity and he said, “In terms of being a weekly TV series character, that’s something that WWE would be, I think, excited to explore creatively with him. But I don’t think he would come in and be seen as a guy who they are just gonna track to headline WrestleMania like Cody has gotten. I think there’s a belief there’s more to Cody, more of a future, given Cody’s age and wear and tear on his body being less and just as a WWE-ready character and promo that there’s more turnkey main event multi-year potential in Cody than Kenny.”
Omega will turn 40 later this year, and he has spoken about the wear and tear on his body. The AEW schedule would allow him to work fewer dates, so a move to WWE is not a foregone conclusion, and he could decide to stay with AEW.
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
