Kenny Omega recently spoke with the official New Japan Pro Wrestling website for an interview promoting his upcoming return to the Tokyo Dome.
During the discussion, “The Cleaner” spoke about how he felt when Will Ospreay came back to NJPW in 2016, as well as how he currently feels about him in 2022.
Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview where he touches on these topics with his thoughts.
On how he felt about Will Ospreay when he came into NJPW back in 2016, and how he feels about him currently in 2022: “I man, you know, how did I feel about Will Ospreay when he first arrived in New Japan? He was just like anybody else. There are so many guys like him, who can do a bunch of flips and tricks. And it’s fun to watch them practice, and it’s fun to watch their matches. But did I ever feel anything from Will Ospreay? Hmm, not so much. And then when I placed the responsibility of filling my shoes on his shoulders, I started to see him take things a little more seriously. It wasn’t about him having fun in the ring, it was about him getting the job done. For that- I’m proud of you, Will. But the thing is, filling my shoes isn’t something that just anyone can do. Just because I tasked you with filling them, doesn’t mean that you can. Just because you have every tool ever in a tool chest of wrestling, doesn’t mean that you can ever do what I did. There are so many moving parts, so many things. The secret to what Kenny Omega does is something that Will can’t understand, it’s what no-one understands. So in a way, I feel, I feel bad. I feel like I owe Will an apology, because I tasked him with the impossible. So how do I feel about Will now? I pity him. I pity him for going off on a fool’s errand, and trying to convince every body that he is me. Wait, let me, let me take that back. He isn’t trying to convince people that he is me, he is trying to convince people that he’s better than me, and um, well, I’ll let the viewers decide how well he’s done.”
On Ospreay’s failures like a bad performance in the G1 Climax and not being able to score the big win over Kazuchika Okada: “I’m starting to hear all these stories about people that want to do what Kenny did, live the lifestyle that Kenny lived. I first heard that with Mox, when AEW first started. He said ‘I want to live a month in Kenny’s shoes, I want to try the G1. I want to see how tough it is. And how did that go for you, pal? He didn’t even make the top four. He certainly didn’t make the finals, and he certainly didn’t win the tournament on his first effort like I did. Will of course, thinking that this was a good approach, he was thinking that maybe he could be the exception to the rule, that he could do it the way Mox could not. That he could do it the way Jay could not. That he could do it the way that I did. Now this year’s G1 was a miss, Okada didn’t go so well either. So why is it that no-one can do what I can do? Well, there’s so many reasons, but the big one, Will, is up here (taps head). It’s what you don’t got upstairs. I’m not going to credit it to your athletic ability, you’ve got oodles of that. Experience? Yeah, experience plays a factor, but when you have so much ability, you can push past that. What you lack, Will, is your mind. You’re unstable, you’re unintelligent, and that’s why you fail.”
Check out the complete Kenny Omega interview by visiting NJPW1972.com.
