It's been over a decade since Kenny Omega asked for his WWE release while in Deep South Wrestling, a then-WWE Developmental territory. Omega said at the time he questioned continuing to wrestle.
Omega spoke to Sean Waltman on X-Pac 12360, and recalled asking out of WWE.
I wasn’t sure where I would go from here (after leaving developmental) Do I even want to continue with wrestling? What is it that I want to do if I continue it? I made the decision that I wanted to be myself. Instead of stressing about all these characters that I thought of, drew up & suggest to WWE Office & Bill DeMott. Which wasn’t me, just ideas I thought of might make the company money. I was going to be myself, try and have fun with it. If people don’t like me, well they don’t like me, then I’ll just disappear & it’s over. If they do like me, then I’m going to enjoy what I am doing again, fall in love with wrestling all over again or keep loving wrestling. That in itself hopefully shines through & believe in the character that is Kenny Omega that is me.
Omega would go on to wrestle for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Ring of Honor, and most famously, New Japan Pro Wrestling where he remains a fixture for the company.
You can see the full podcast with Omega above.
