IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega and AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo will square off in a non-title “Dream Match” at tonight’s AEW Dynamite event. According to AEW President Tony Khan, this match has been in the works since 2021.
Vikingo is frequently referred to as the world’s most exciting luchador. Omega spoke with Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso to promote tonight’s match, and he praised his opponent.
“Every Vikingo match has something embedded in it that we’ve never seen before,” Omega said. “It’s a very exciting time.”
Tonight’s match was scheduled after Khan contacted Masked Republic’s Lucha Libre Agency, which handles all of Vikingo’s bookings outside of Mexico. While the AEW roster is full of potential opponents for Vikingo, given their history, Omega makes the most sense for his debut. Omega believes Vikingo deserves to compete on a global stage.
“I thought our eventual clash would happen in AAA on Mexican soil, but it’s an opportunity that fell into my lap,” Omega said. “I’m not the booker, I’m not the matchmaker, I don’t make the rules, but I have been given a chance to wrestle someone that’s going to change the way people think about wrestling and change the way we think about lucha libre. There is a sense of pride to help with this introduction of a new power player in professional wrestling. The way Vikingo’s captured people’s attention and conquered AAA, he deserves a world stage to show what he has to offer.”
An Omega match on Dynamite is even more rare, and the last time one occurred was in 2021, in the same arena in Independence. It also hosted Omega and PAC’s excellent 30-minute Iron Man match on the go-home show before the first Revolution in 2020. Omega, who is only 39 years old, has paid a price for years of nonstop grueling, physical bouts—but he is looking forward to making magic in the ring tonight.
This will be Omega’s first Dynamite singles match since his victory over Alan “5” Angels on the November 3, 2021 episode, which also took place at the Cable Dahmer Center in Independence, Missouri. Omega stated that this will be a personal challenge for him.
“I love showing different wrestling cultures,” Omega said. “Lucha libre is an art unlike any other. Vikingo is a modern-day innovator and an incredibly talented practitioner of lucha libre. People are going to be in for a treat. This is also a personal test for me. He’s made a couple stops here in the United States with GCW and Impact, and had a couple barn burners, but I want to offer a different experience visually. I’m hoping that the marriage of styles will create something very unique looking.”
As a student of the game, Omega understands that styles make fights, so tonight’s match will be the best of Omega vs. the best of Vikingo, rather than pure lucha, Japanese Strong Style, classic North American wrestling style, or any other. Omega expressed his hope that tonight’s match will provide people with a unique experience.
“AEW is somewhat of a gateway drug for people that want to see new types of wrestling and these types of unique matches,” Omega said. “We’ll always be accommodating to any talent on the planet—it doesn’t matter where they’re from, their shape, size, color, gender—who can display pro wrestling at its best. Pro wrestling is not just one particular style. A big motivator in creating AEW was unity. Coming together for one common goal, an open door to a platform for the best pro wrestling. By seeing two different sides clash, I hope people receive a different kind of experience from the encounter.”
