Kenny Omega Won’t Be Coming to the WWE Anytime Soon

If you’re a WWE fan who is intrigued by what you hear about Kenny Omega, you’re going to be waiting a little while longer until Omega makes the jump to Vince McMahon’s company. That is, if he ever does.

According to this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Omega signed a new contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling last Tuesday, January 9. The deal is reported to be for one year, with the expiration coming on January 31, 2019.

The move isn’t all that surprising. Omega is probably the most notorious wrestler in the world outside of WWE. He works a lighter work load (albeit further from home), his t-shirts have become a pop cultural phenomenon, and he’s one of the faces of a growing company (WrestleKingdom 12 was the biggest crowd for a non-WWE wrestling show since the days of WCW).

Will Kenny ever make the jump to WWE? It’s hard to say for sure. He was previously under contract to them back in 2005 and 2006, wrestling in the Deep South Wrestling development territory (this was before WWE NXT). He speaks very negatively of his time there, most notably due to his relationships with Bill DeMott and Bob Holly.

Since leaving WWE and becoming a mega star with New Japan, WWE has approached Omega about making a return. He has turned them down every single time. Last year in particular, coming off his tremendous bout with Kazuchika Okada at WrestleKingdom 11, there were nonstop rumors that Omega was going to make the jump and appear at the Royal Rumble. Obviously that didn’t happen, and there’s now zero chance Kenny will be in Philadelphia for this year’s incarnation, nor will he be at next year’s event either.

The good news is, wrestling from around the world is easier to access in 2017 than ever before. While in year’s past we would hear about someone’s great work in Japan and have to wait months to receive a DVD or VHS tape in the mail, these days there is the NJPW World streaming service to watch the shows live.

So although Omega won’t be coming to the WWE in 2018, his work is readily accessible for anyone who wants to watch one of the absolute best performers in the world.