This past Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite saw Kenny Omega tease Kota Ibushi’s arrival in AEW, courtesy of a video segment. However, fans eager to see “The Cleaner” reunite with his Golden Lovers tag team partner shouldn’t get their hopes up, as it won’t be happening any time soon.
Citing the Wrestling Observer Newsletter , 411Mania reports that the video was a dig at New Japan Pro Wrestling , where Ibushi currently resides. Prior to joining AEW, NJPW was Omega’s home, and since he left the company, there have been reports of a fallout between both camps. Those tensions reportedly haven’t healed yet.
“We’re told emphatically there is nothing going on in the direction of Ibushi in AEW or AEW working with New Japan from people on both sides who would know. In fact, the video was closer to Cody sledge hammering the throne in meaning than signaling a working relationship and the return of the Golden Lovers.”
The video, which featured a cartoon version of Ibushi holding his G1 Climax trophy, suggested that AEW and NJPW might have entered a working relationship. However, it has since been interpreted as Omega’s way of officially saying goodbye to his old partner and company.
There have been several reports which suggest that the relationship between Omega and Ibushi is fractured these days. A few months ago, Meltzer asked Ibushi if he’d seen the Omega Man documentary, which caused an awkward silence in the room.
One man – Double the attack by @KennyOmegamanX . Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on @TNTDrama 8e/7c pic.twitter.com/3XYpUKlUk4
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) October 31, 2019
However, Ibushi has shared his thoughts on Omega and AEW. Earlier this year, he conducted an interview with the NJPW website, where he ruled out joining the upstart American company.
“I’d like to see Kenny change the world with wrestling, but I don’t want to lose to him. I’m going to fight my battles with everything I’ve got. Looking back now, I think Kenny really overshadowed me in New Japan, right?”
Omega also opened up about the Ibushi situation earlier this year. He said that his old partner would have joined AEW if he asked him to, but he knew that he wanted to stay with NJPW. Since then, Ibushi has signed a lifetime contract with his current promotion.
It’s now likely that Ibushi and his fellow NJPW stars will be competition to AEW. As The Inquisitr reported last week, the Japanese company has announced an American-based subsidiary. The goal is to expand the brand in globally, and that could potentially mean taking on AEW and WWE .
