Kenny Omega | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Omega in 2019 | |
| Born | Tyson Smith October 16, 1983 |
| Citizenship |
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| Employer | All Elite Wrestling |
| Title | Executive Vice President |
| Ring name(s) | Kenny Omega Scott Carpenter[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 218 lb (99 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada[3][4] |
| Trained by | Bobby Jay[5] Dave Taylor[5] |
| Debut | February 2000[6] |
Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. He performs in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is also an executive vice president.
Before joining AEW in 2019, Omega was known for his tenure in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) from 2014 to 2019, during which he held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, as well as other titles. A member and one-time leader of the Bullet Club stable, he incorporates elements from video games in his persona. Throughout his career, Omega has also performed as part of independent promotions worldwide, including DDT Pro-Wrestling, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, as well as larger national and international promotions, such as Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. While wrestling in the last two promotions, he held the Impact World Championship and AAA Mega Championship. In AEW, he has held the AEW World Championship, AEW World Tag Team Championship, and AEW World Trios Championship.
Hailed as one of the best professional wrestlers in the world,[7][8] Omega was named Sports Illustrated's Wrestler of the Year in 2017 and topped Pro Wrestling Illustrated's list of top 500 male wrestlers the following year and in 2021. He has also attained the latter publication's Match of the Year distinction three times; one of those matches, in which Omega competed against Kazuchika Okada in a two out of three falls match at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall in June 2018, received a seven-star rating from sports journalist Dave Meltzer, the highest rating Meltzer has ever awarded a professional wrestling match. He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2020.
Tyson Smith was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on October 16, 1983.[9][10][11] He grew up in Transcona, a Winnipeg suburb.[12] As of 2016, Smith's mother works in family services while his father works for the Canadian government as a transport officer.[13] Smith's affinity toward professional wrestling began during childhood when he watched tapes of WWE (then-WWF)'s Saturday Night's Main Event, which became his favorite program.[13] Growing up, Smith played ice hockey as a goalie.[9] He also worked at branches of retailers IGA and Costco.[3]
Smith first became interested in a career in professional wrestling after one of his friends from Transcona Collegiate Institute (TCI) began training with Top Rope Championship Wrestling (TRCW) in Winnipeg.[9] Smith ended his ice hockey career plans and began training under TRCW promoter Bobby Jay,[9] whom he met while he was stacking shelves at an IGA store.[5] After training with Jay for a year, 16-year-old Smith made his professional wrestling debut in the year 2000.[6][4] He went on to wrestle as part of TRCW for two years, where he developed the gimmick of a Hawaiian surfer named Kenny Omega.[5][14] The surfer aspect was later dropped and replaced with an otaku-influenced gimmick.[5] In 2001, he graduated from TCI and enrolled in university but dropped out during his first year in order to fully pursue professional wrestling.[9]
In 2001, Omega debuted in the Winnipeg-based promotion Premier Championship Wrestling (PCW).[15] He won the PCW Heavyweight Championship and the PCW Tag Team Championship in 2003 and 2004, respectively.[16][17] He unsuccessfully challenged Petey Williams for the TNA X Division Championship at the National Wrestling Alliance's 56th Anniversary Show on October 17.[18] He later won an eight-man tournament, defeating Nate Hardy, Chris Sabin, and Amazing Red, to win the Premier Cup and the NWA Canada X-Division Championship on June 2.[19] After competing for Harley Race's promotion World League Wrestling in September 2005, losing to Keith Walker in a match, Omega was invited to a week-long tryout by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).[9]
In October 2005, Smith was sent to Deep South Wrestling (DSW), WWE's then-developmental territory for a tryout, after which he was offered a developmental contract and subsequently assigned to DSW full-time.[14] In August 2006, he requested his release from his contract.[8] Omega later stated that his time in DSW was poor, particularly criticizing promoters Bill DeMott and Jody Hamilton, and trainer Bob Holly.[13][20] Nevertheless, he expressed praise for trainer Dave Taylor.[5] WWE has since reportedly approached him with contracts in the spring of 2014, three times in 2015, and in early 2019.[21][22][23]
After his release from WWE, Omega intended to forge a career in mixed martial arts and entered Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments before deciding to return to professional wrestling.[9] He then reinvented his wrestling persona and developed a new distinct move set.[9] On March 8, 2008, Omega competed for Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) and captured the JAPW Heavyweight Championship by defeating Low Ki.[24] On April 19, he retained his title against Frankie Kazarian at Spring Massacre.[25] Omega lost the JAPW Heavyweight Championship to Jay Lethal at Jersey City Rumble on February 28, 2009.[26]
Omega competed in a six-way elimination match for the JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship on December 10, 2010, during which he was eliminated by the eventual winner, Jushin Thunder Liger.[27] On May 15, 2011, he defeated Liger in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during New Japan Pro-Wrestling's inaugural US tour to win the JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship.[28] That same year, Omega wrestled in tapings for Wrestling Revolution Project, performing under the ring name Scott Carpenter.[1] JAPW declared the Light Heavyweight Championship vacant in September 2014.[29] He went on to make appearances during PCW events in October 2018 and March 2019.[30][31]
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Main article: Golden Lovers |
In 2006, Omega became captivated by Japanese wrestler Kota Ibushi after watching him perform as part of Japanese promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling, so he uploaded videos of himself having a DDT-style match to YouTube, in hopes they would interest Ibushi into working with him.[32] After seeing the videos, DDT invited Omega to Japan to wrestle Ibushi, which Omega accepted; he made his first appearance for the promotion in August 2008.[32][33] Omega stated that wrestling in Japan had been one of his dreams, as the local scene appealed to his creative side, feeling that he was able to show his personality and express himself.[9][32] He and Ibushi then formed a tag team named the Golden☆Lovers.[34]
In 2011, Omega competed in a match against a nine-year-old girl named Haruka. A video of the match went viral, making international news and receiving polarizing responses, after which Omega received death threats.[35] Wrestler Mick Foley, conversely, praised Omega's work as a heel, asking why he was not on national television.[36] Omega later stated that he was asked to work with Haruka due to the safe nature of his work and that he personally trained her before their match.[37] In the same year, Omega represented DDT in All Japan Pro Wrestling's 2011 Junior League, making his debut for the promotion on September 11.[38] After three wins and two losses, he finished second in his block and did not advance to the finals.[39]
On October 23, Omega defeated Kai to become the new World Junior Heavyweight Champion.[40] He lost the title back to Kai on May 27, 2012, in his sixth title defense.[41] On December 23, Omega defeated El Generico to win the KO-D Openweight Championship for the first time.[42] On January 27, 2013, Omega defeated Isami Kodaka in a title vs. title match, retaining his title and winning the DDT Extreme Championship held by Kodaka.[43] He lost the KO-D Openweight Championship to Shigehiro Irie on March 20, 2013.[44] On May 26, Omega, Ibushi, and Gota Ihashi defeated Yuji Hino, Antonio Honda, and Daisuke Sasaki to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[45] Omega's team lost the championship to Hino, Honda, and Hoshitango.[46] On August 25, Omega lost the DDT Extreme Championship to Danshoku Dino.[47]
On January 26, 2014, the Golden☆Lovers defeated the respective teams of Kodaka and Yuko Miyamoto as well as Konosuke Takeshita and Tetsuya Endo in a three-way match to win the KO-D Tag Team Championship.[48] The team of the Golden☆Lovers and Sasaki won the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship from Irie, Keisuke Ishii, and Soma Takao in April but lost the title to Kudo, Masa Takanashi, and Yukio Sakaguchi the following month.[49][50] On September 28, the Golden☆Lovers lost the KO-D Tag Team Championship to Takeshita and Endo.[51] Omega returned to DDT for the promotion's Ultimate Party event on November 3, 2019, during which he and Riho scored a victory over Honda and Miyu Yamashita in a tag team match.[52]
On November 1, 2008, Omega appeared for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) during the 2008 Battle of Los Angeles, where he was defeated in the first round of the tournament by local talent Brandon Bonham.[53] The next night, during a three-way tag team match in which Omega competed, he was Irish whipped into the ropes by Davey Richards, only for the force to snap the middle and bottom ropes, throwing Omega out of the ring.[54] Three months later, Omega returned to the promotion at Express Written Consent, where he was defeated by El Generico after referee Rick Knox hit him with a leaping clothesline after Knox grew tired of Omega abusing him.[55][56] At PWG's hundredth show on April 12, 2009, he lost to Bryan Danielson.[57]
On November 20, 2009, Omega entered the year's Battle of Los Angeles, which was contested for the vacant PWG World Championship, defeating Kevin Steen, Scott Lost, and Joey Ryan in the first, quarter, and semifinal rounds, respectively.[58] He defeated Roderick Strong in the final round to win the tournament and become the PWG World Champion.[59][60] On February 27, 2010, Omega lost the championship to Richards at As the Worm Turns in his first defense.[61]
On October 27, 2012, Omega made his first appearance for PWG in over two and a half years at Failure to Communicate when he teamed with El Generico in a tag team match, where they defeated The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson).[62] Omega returned to PWG to compete in the 2014 Battle of Los Angeles on August 29,[63] advancing all the way to the semifinals until he was eliminated by the eventual winner of the tournament, Ricochet.[64][65] He returned again for the 2017 Battle of Los Angeles on September 2,[66] teaming with The Young Bucks and defeating Flamita, Penta 0M, and Rey Fenix in a six-man tag team match.[67]
On July 25, 2008, Omega appeared for the promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), losing to Delirious in Toronto, Ontario.[68] The following night, Omega competed at ROH New Horizons, losing to Silas Young.[69] The following year, he defeated Austin Aries, Jay Briscoe, and Roderick Strong in a Four-Corner Survival match.[70] On November 14, 2009, Omega competed against Aries for the ROH World Championship but was defeated.[71] At Final Battle 2009, he competed in a Four-Corner Survival match, which was won by Claudio Castagnoli.[72] In September 2010, Omega competed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), losing to Prince Devitt in a match for Devitt's IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.[73] On October 11 at Destruction '10, the Golden☆Lovers defeated Apollo 55 (Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi) to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.[74] On January 23, 2011, at Fantastica Mania 2011, an NJPW and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre co-promoted event in Tokyo, the Golden☆Lovers lost title back to Apollo 55.[75] He also competed in the 2010 and 2011 Best of the Super Juniors tournaments.[76]
Omega returned to NJPW in May 2013 to take part in the 2013 Best of the Super Juniors, where he managed to win five out of his eight round-robin matches, advancing to the semifinals of the tournament.[77] On June 9, Omega was defeated in his semifinal match by Devitt, following interference from Devitt's stable, Bullet Club.[78] A year later, he took part in New Japan's 2014 Best of the Super Juniors tournament from May 30 to June 6, finishing with a record of three wins and four losses, with a loss against Taichi on the final day, which cost him a spot in the semifinals.[79][80]
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Main articles: Bullet Club and The Elite (professional wrestling) |
On October 3, 2014, NJPW held a press conference to announce that Omega was set to sign with the promotion once his DDT contract expired on October 26.[81] Omega, dubbing himself the Cleaner, made his debut under contract on November 8 at Power Struggle, where he was revealed as the newest member of Bullet Club, despite having previously dismissed the idea of joining the villainous foreigner stable, claiming that he did not consider himself a gaijin.[81][82][83] Omega defeated Ryusuke Taguchi to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2015.[84][85] He retained the title over Taguchi in a rematch on February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka.[86][87] In the following months, he successfully defended the title against Máscara Dorada at Invasion Attack 2015 and Alex Shelley at Wrestling Dontaku 2015.[88][89]
Omega lost the title to Kushida on July 5 at Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall.[90] On September 23 at Destruction in Okayama, he regained the title from Kushida, following an interference from Bullet Club stablemate Karl Anderson.[91] On January 4, 2016, Omega once again lost the title to Kushida at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome.[92] The following day, Omega teamed with Bullet Club leader A.J. Styles to defeat Shinsuke Nakamura and Yoshi-Hashi in a tag team match.[93] After the match, Bullet Club turned on Styles, with Omega taking over the leadership of the stable.[94]
At The New Beginning in Niigata on February 14, 2016, Omega defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the vacant IWGP Intercontinental Championship.[95] Six days later, he and The Young Bucks–the Bullet Club subgroup known as The Elite–won the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship from The Briscoe Brothers and Toru Yano at Honor Rising: Japan 2016, an event co-produced by NJPW and ROH.[96] That same month, Omega had signed on to become a regular competitor for ROH.[97] The Elite lost the title to Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, and Yoshitatsu on April 10 at Invasion Attack 2016.[98] On April 27, Omega retained the IWGP Intercontinental Championship over Elgin,[99] which marked the first time two Canadians main evented an NJPW event.[100] On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2016, The Elite regained the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[101] On June 19 at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall, Omega lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to Elgin in NJPW's inaugural ladder match.[102] On July 3, The Elite lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to Matt Sydal, Ricochet, and Satoshi Kojima.[103]
From July to August, Omega took part in the 2016 G1 Climax, where he advanced to the finals after winning his block with a record of six wins and three losses.[104] In the final round, he defeated Hirooki Goto and earned an opportunity to compete for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.[105] Omega not only won the tournament in his first attempt but also became the first non-Japanese G1 Climax winner in history.[106][107] Towards the end of the year, despite having the opportunity to return to ROH, Omega was asked by NJPW not to take any outside bookings heading into Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome. Due to this, Omega did not appear for ROH for the rest of 2016.[108] He lost to IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 11 on January 4, 2017.[109] At 46 minutes and 45 seconds, the match was, at the time, the longest in the history of the January 4 Tokyo Dome Show.[110] Sports journalist Dave Meltzer gave the match a six-star rating in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, adding that Omega and Okada "may have put on the greatest match in pro wrestling history".[111] The match was also praised by wrestlers Bryan Danielson, Mick Foley, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.[112][113]
On January 6, 2017, Omega stated that he would be "stepping away from Japan to reassess [his] future", adding that he was "weighing all options".[114] On January 26, Omega announced on Wrestling Observer Radio that he would be flying back to Japan in February to negotiate a new deal with NJPW for "at least one more year".[115] He returned during the first night of Honor Rising: Japan 2017 in February.[116] Omega competed against Kazuchika Okada in a match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on June 11 at Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall, which ended in a 60-minute time limit draw.[117] The match was rated 61⁄4 stars by Dave Meltzer, higher than their previous match, making it the highest-rated match by Meltzer at that time.[118]
During the G1 Special in USA in July 2017, Omega defeated Michael Elgin, Jay Lethal, and Tomohiro Ishii in an eight-man tournament to become the inaugural IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion.[119] The event also saw signs of dissension between Omega and new Bullet Club member Cody.[120] On August 12, Omega won his block in the 2017 G1 Climax tournament with a record of seven wins and two losses, advancing to the finals,[121] where he was eventually defeated by Tetsuya Naito.[122] He successfully defended his title against Juice Robinson on September 24 at Destruction in Kobe and against Yoshi-Hashi on October 15 at the NJPW and ROH-co-produced Global Wars: Chicago event.[123][124]
At Wrestle Kingdom 12 on January 4, 2018, Omega defeated the debuting Chris Jericho in a no disqualification match to retain the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.[125] The bout was credited as having grown international interest in NJPW, particularly from North America.[126] On January 28, Omega lost the title to Jay White at The New Beginning in Sapporo. After the match, Omega accepted defeat and stopped Bullet Club member Adam Page from confronting White, which brought out Cody. After months of tension over leadership of the Bullet Club faction,[127][128] Cody hit Omega with a rolling cutter. When Page attempted to assist Cody in attacking Omega, Kota Ibushi returned to the ring after competing earlier in the night to save his former partner, leading to an embrace between Omega and Ibushi and a rekindling of their friendship.[129][130] Omega returned to ROH for the Supercard of Honor XII event on April 7, 2018, where he lost to Cody.[131]
On June 9, Omega defeated Okada in a two out of three falls match with no time limit for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, becoming the first Canadian wrestler to win the title in the process.[132] The match received a seven-star rating from Meltzer, which remains the highest rating ever given to a match.[133] Omega then defeated Cody to retain his title at NJPW's G1 Special in San Francisco on July 7. Following the match, Bullet Club members Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Bad Luck Fale, and King Haku attacked Omega, Cody, and every other Bullet Club member who tried to aid them, forming their own branch within the stable.[134][135] Omega and Cody subsequently reconciled alongside the rest of Bullet Club.[134]
In September 2018, Omega appeared at the independent event All In, where he defeated Penta El Zero.[136] He successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Ishii at Destruction later that month as well as against Cody and Ibushi in a three-way match at King of Pro-Wrestling the next month.[137][138] It was revealed in October that Cody, Page, and Marty Scurll would be known alongside Omega and The Young Bucks as part of The Elite,[139] with the group also stating that they were "no longer affiliated with Bullet Club".[140] Pro Wrestling Illustrated named Omega the No. 1 professional wrestler of 2018 in its annual list of the top 500 male wrestlers.[141] Omega lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 13 on January 4, 2019, ending his reign at 209 days.[142] He departed NJPW after his contract expired at the end of January.[143]
In November 2022 at Historic X-Over, Omega returned to New Japan Pro-Wrestling via a video message, challenging IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay, to a match for the title at Wrestle Kingdom 17.[144] At the event, Omega defeated Ospreay, winning the title for the second time.[145] He dropped the title to Ospreay at Forbidden Door in June.[146]
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Omega signed a four-year contract with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on February 7, 2019.[147] He serves as an executive vice president of the promotion as well as one of its in-ring talents.[148] He competed at the promotion's inaugural event, Double or Nothing, where he lost to Chris Jericho in the main event, after which both men were attacked by Jon Moxley.[149] A scheduled match between Omega and Moxley for the All Out pay-per-view did not take place due to Moxley suffering an MRSA infection.[150] Omega instead competed against Pac at All Out, where he was defeated.[151][152] On the premiere episode of Dynamite on October 2, Omega was taken out by a returning Moxley during a six-man tag team match, with Omega's team later losing the contest.[153] In the main event of Full Gear on November 9, Omega lost to Moxley in an unsanctioned Lights Out match.[154][155]
At Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea Part Deux: Second Wave in January 2020, Omega and Adam Page defeated SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky) to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship, marking the first title change in the promotion's history.[156] At Revolution on February 29, Omega and Page retained the championship against The Young Bucks.[157] Omega, Page, and The Young Bucks competed alongside Matt Hardy against The Inner Circle–which comprises Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Jake Hager, and Santana and Ortiz–in a Stadium Stampede match on May 23 at Double or Nothing, where Omega's team was victorious.[158] On September 5 at All Out, Omega and Page lost the AEW World Tag Team Championship to FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood).[159]
Following the loss to FTR, Omega stated that he was going to return to singles competition.[160] From October to November 2020, he participated in a tournament to determine the number one contender for the AEW World Championship and won it by defeating Adam Page in the final round at Full Gear.[161][162] At Winter Is Coming on December 2, Omega defeated Jon Moxley to become the AEW World Champion for the first time, with the help of Don Callis, and turned heel.[163][164] Following the win, he appeared alongside Callis for Impact Wrestling on the December 8 episode of its program, Impact!, establishing a partnership between the two.[165] At the Hard To Kill pay-per-view in January 2021, he competed for the promotion, teaming with fellow former Bullet Club stablemates Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows to defeat Rich Swann, Chris Sabin, and Moose.[166] At Revolution in March, Omega retained the title over Moxley in an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch.[167]
At Impact Wrestling's Rebellion pay-per-view in April 2021, Omega defeated Swann in a Winner Takes All match to retain his AEW World Championship and also win the Impact World Championship.[168] The following month, he successfully defended the AEW World Championship at the Double or Nothing event against Pac and Orange Cassidy in a three-way match.[169] At Slammiversary, Omega defeated Sami Callihan in a no disqualification match to retain the Impact World Championship.[170] On the premiere episode of Rampage on August 13, he lost the Impact World Championship to Christian Cage.[171] At All Out in September, Omega defeated Cage to retain the AEW World Championship.[172] He lost the title to Page in November at Full Gear.[173] That same year, Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked him No. 1 on its list of the top 500 male professional wrestlers for the second time.[174] Omega took a hiatus from competing in November 2021 due to injuries.[175] He underwent hernia and knee surgeries.[176]
Omega returned on the August 17, 2022, episode of Dynamite as The Young Bucks' partner in the inaugural AEW World Trios Championship tournament, where they defeated La Facción Ingobernable in the first round.[177] After defeating United Empire in the second round,[178] Omega and The Young Bucks defeated Adam Page, Alex Reynolds, and John Silver at All Out to become the inaugural AEW World Trios Champions.[179] After the All Out post-event media scrum, Omega and The Young Bucks clashed with AEW World Champion CM Punk and producer Ace Steel in a legitimate physical altercation following comments Punk had made about them during the scrum. As a result, AEW President Tony Khan suspended all involved.[180][181] Both the AEW World Championship and AEW World Trios Championship were then vacated.[181][182]
Omega and The Young Bucks returned at Full Gear that November, challenging Death Triangle for the AEW World Trios Championship in a losing effort.[183] This was the first match in a best-of-seven series between the two teams, which concluded in an Escalera De La Muerte ladder match on Dynamite on January 11, 2023, where Omega's team won the match, the series (4–3), and the AEW World Trios Championship.[184] In March 2023 at Revolution, Omega and The Young Bucks lost the title to House of Black.[185] Omega's team failed to regain the championship later that month on Dynamite, losing to the retaining House of Black in a three-way-trios match that also involved The Jericho Appreciation Society. After the match, the Blackpool Combat Club (BCC) and Page appeared and brawled, leading Omega and The Young Bucks to help Page.[186] On May 10 on Dynamite, Omega lost to the BCC's Jon Moxley in a steel cage match after Don Callis betrayed Omega by stabbing him with a screwdriver.[187] At Double or Nothing, Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta of the BCC defeated Omega, The Young Bucks, and Page in an Anarchy in the Arena match.[188] On July 19 on Dynamite: Blood & Guts, the Elite, along with Kota Ibushi, defeated the Blackpool Combat Club, Konosuke Takeshita, and Pac in a Blood & Guts match.[189] On August 2, 2023, it was announced that Omega, the Young Bucks, and Adam Page had all signed multi-year contract extensions with AEW.[190]
In 2019, AEW announced a partnership with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, and Omega made his debut for the latter promotion at its Triplemanía XXVII event, teaming with Matt and Nick Jackson in a losing effort against Fénix, Pentagón Jr., and Laredo Kid.[191][192] At Héroes Inmortales XIII in October, Omega won the AAA Mega Championship from Fénix.[191] He retained the title against Dragon Lee at Triplemanía Regia in December and against Laredo Kid at Triplemanía XXVIII the following year.[193][194] He defeated Andrade El Idolo to remain the AAA Mega Champion at Triplemanía XXIX in August 2021.[195] In November, Omega vacated the AAA Mega Championship due to injuries, ending his reign as the title's longest-reigning holder.[196][197]
In 2023, it was announced that Omega would make his return to AAA to challenge AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo for the title at Triplemanía XXXI: Tijuana.[198]
A fan of video games, Smith incorporates ideas from the medium into wrestling maneuvers, entrance music, and gimmick concepts.[199] The Kenny Omega ring name was originally inspired by the character Omega Weapon from the Final Fantasy video game series.[3] He named his finishing maneuver the One-Winged Angel (a reference to Final Fantasy VII character Sephiroth) and the running knee strike he employs as a signature maneuver the V-Trigger (a technique used in Street Fighter V);[32][200] integrated the Hadouken attack from the Street Fighter video game series as a signature move;[201] and used of variations of Mega Man antagonist Dr. Wily's theme music as entrance themes.[202] For his final appearance for NJPW at Wrestle Kingdom 13, Smith collaborated with Undertale creator Toby Fox to create a custom entrance video in the style of the game.[203] In addition to video games, Smith also draws inspiration from the television show Star Trek: The Next Generation and superhero cartoons to develop elements of his in-ring persona.[201] At Fyter Fest in June 2019, Smith also donned ring gear that references the character Akuma from the Street Fighter series.[204][205]
During his run in Bullet Club, Smith did his interviews entirely in English,[206] refusing to speak Japanese.[207] In an interview, he stated that he was told that his otaku gimmick was "too bubbly" for Bullet Club, which led to him adopting the Cleaner nickname as a reference to people who clean up crime scenes. Smith cited the character Albert Wesker from the Resident Evil video game series as well as Sylvester Stallone's character, Marion "Cobra" Cobretti, from the film Cobra as inspirations for the Cleaner gimmick.[208] Although Smith originally intended to embody the gimmick straightforwardly, he later integrated comedy into the persona as a response to people who thought he was portraying a janitor, doing so by coming out for his matches holding a mop and a broom.[207]
Over the course of their careers, the relationship between Omega and his Golden☆Lovers tag team partner Kota Ibushi has been portrayed with romantic undertones.[209][210][211][212] On the partnership, Omega stated in 2018: "Let people think what they want to think. If LGBT people can identify with our story, ... I'm good with that." Omega and Ibushi's partnership was chronicled in the 2019 documentary Omega Man: A Wrestling Love Story.[213] Omega strives for inclusivity within professional wrestling and believes that "it's important to show in the 21st century that [LGBT people] should feel just as welcome to be a wrestling fan as anyone else".[214]
Smith considers himself straight edge as he avoids the recreational use of alcohol and drugs.[215] He has a younger sister.[2][13] He has suffered from vertigo since 2018.[216] He is close friends with wrestler and former tag team partner Michael Nakazawa.[217]
Smith is fluent in Japanese. As of August 2018, he lived in the Katsushika ward of Tokyo.[32][12] He said in October 2016 that he "loved Japanese culture before even realizing it was, in fact, Japanese culture" and that his favorite video games and cartoons were Japanese.[218] He has since acquired Japanese citizenship.[219] Regarding his life outside of wrestling, he said in 2016 that he had no time to think about relationships because he was completely focused on wrestling.[220]
A self-professed avid gamer, Smith hosted a YouTube series called Cleaner's Corner, in which he played some of his favorite video games.[201] In June 2016, he made a guest appearance at Community Effort Orlando, defeating wrestler Xavier Woods in a game of Street Fighter V.[221] The two often appear at video game conventions together.[222] He portrayed the character Cody Travers in a live-action portion of a trailer for Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition in 2018.[223]
| 7 matches | 4 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 1 |
| By submission | 1 | 2 |
| By decision | 0 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 4–3 | Brett Jensen | Submission | UCE: Round 32 - Episode 2 | July 18, 2008 | 1 | 0:42 | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States | |
| Loss | 4–2 | Travis Fulton | TKO (punches) | CVFA: Return of the Champions | April 28, 2007 | 1 | 1:24 | Iowa, United States | |
| Win | 4–1 | Clayton Swanson | KO (punch) | Whiskey Junction Beatdown 8 | February 22, 2007 | 1 | 0:42 | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 3–1 | Larry Zykstra | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Whiskey Junction Beatdown 4 | February 8, 2007 | 1 | 1:43 | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 2–1 | Jeremy Homan | TKO (submission to punches) | Whiskey Junction Beatdown 3 | February 1, 2007 | 1 | 0:24 | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 1–1 | Mark Cantrell | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:43 | ||||
| Loss | 0–1 | Dan Severn | Submission | Action Wrestling Entertainment | October 5, 2005 | 1 | 4:12 | Canada |
Source: [224]
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