Moments ago live on YouTube, Kenny Omega was revealed as the latest member of the AEW roster after weeks of speculation he would be signing with the upstart company.
The announcement took place during the AEW Double or Nothing Ticket Party press conference just outside the MGM Grand Arena on Thursday night.
Excerpt from our live AEW press conference recap:
Omega grabs a mic and apologizes for making the fans wait this long for this announcement. He said the world is a strange place when it comes to legalities. Omega reveals he didn’t put “pen to paper” until this morning. He’s very happy and excited to announce that he has now a full-time member of the AEW roster. Omega talks about forming The Elite and trying to give back to the wrestling fans with The Bucks and Cody. He said the journey had to come to an end in Japan. Omega says now they are here in the “frigid cold” of Las Vegas and thanks to the platform given to them by the Khan family, a platform also given by fans who “wanted something more” and “wanted something different”, they couldn’t just top and had to push this thing forward.
Omega says in various interviews, he was asked what it was like to change the world and he couldn’t quite explain it so eloquently. He always knew the meaning in his heart and he knew the fans really understood that at ALL IN last year in Chicago. Omega wondered why couldn’t it be this way all the time? He says now it can. Omega says rather than try to explain what change the world means in words, the cast and crew of All Elite Wrestling will finally be able to show you how they will change the world.
Omega had been under contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling until the end of January, leaving him unavailable to officially sign elsewhere for the last few months. He stated publicly he would not be returning to New Japan shortly after Wrestle Kingdom 13.
Omega, a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, reportedly had interest from WWE with his New Japan deal expiring this year. Hulk Hogan even told Sports Illustrated that Omega’s career could feel incomplete if he never had a run with WWE.
Shortly after his reveal during the AEW press conference, Chris Jericho interrupted and confronted Omega on stage. A brawl broke out between Omega and Jericho, teasing a potential rematch between the two at Double or Nothing.
Jericho and Omega previously wrestled at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in January 2018.