Kenny Omega: If Not For Gallows And Anderson, I’d Still Be Toiling Away In NJPW Like Kota Ibushi

Kenny Omega says Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson owe him no explanation for choosing to sign with WWE over debuting with AEW.

The Bullet Club is a faction that ignited a new era in wrestling that has expanded and can be felt in every major brand in pro wrestling today. Currently, Kenny Omega is working between AEW and IMPACT and in January, he will wrestle at IMPACT Hard To Kill in a Bullet Club reunions when he teams with Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson against the Motor City Machine Guns and Rich Swann.

Full Lineup Announced For NJPW Power Struggle

Gallows and Anderson made their debut in IMPACT at Slammiversary this summer after being released by WWE on Wednesday, April 15th, 2020. Following their release, they revealed that they were supposed to join AEW on the first episode of Dynamite but after giving their friends their word, they ultimately chose to re-sign with WWE for more money.

Speaking about their decision with Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega revealed that he credits Gallows and Anderson with the rise of his career in Japan and feels that they don't owe him an explanation for their actions, he is just happy he is able to help them whenever they need it.

“The Good Brothers were there for me when I was in Japan when I was trying to take on a new challenge and that was going from the indies in Japan to now taking a huge new leap to New Japan, where there's not much crossover in fanbase. BushiRoad did a great job of creating their own universe of fans, the people that watch New Japan, they're only watching New Japan. There's going to be some crossover, but they developed a very new fan base and mostly women, as you know, women and children, which is incredible, that watch their product and strictly their own product.

“So I wanted to know, 'how can I be successful? What do I do to make it good enough?' The Good Brothers are the ones to give me a nudge with their elbow and say, 'it's not good enough. I want to see this Kenny Omega, the one that you show me when we go for Korean barbecue. when we go out for the sponsored dinners. I want to see this guy. I want to see this personality in that ring. I think what you're doing in Japan with DDT, I don't think it's enough. I don't think it's going to convey your message that you want to tell these people and I think what you want to do is going to take another five, six, seven, eight years to do when we don't have that time, we to strike while the iron is hot and we've got the way.' That driving force, that broomstick engine was the Bullet Club.”

Kenny Omega says that had it not been for his introduction into Bullet Club, he would likely still be finding his place in New Japan and he would even compare the potential scenario to that of Kota Ibushi, his former partner, who still has yet to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

“That's why there was the birth of 'The Cleaner' and that's why Gallows, Anderson, all the Bullet Club guys they're the ones to introduce me, to accept me with open arms and to present to the world 'The Cleaner.' Yeah, I got to speak with my own mouth, with my own voice on that night. But if it wasn't for their humble acceptance of me and for them to introduce me to a live crowd and then give me the platform to then in my first match when the junior heavyweight title, who knows how long I would have taken, we probably wouldn't be here today. I'd probably still plugging away being a white meat babyface, you know, in New Japan and I would probably be like, you know, I hate to say it, but a guy like Kota Ibushi, who's got all the talent in the world but has yet to win the big prize, I owe that to the Bullet Club. I owe it to Gallows and Gun. Absolutely. So, do I feel bad that they kind of screwed us to take the payoff at WWE? The answer is no. I don't need to know the reasons for doing it, what I care about is that they're family and that when they needed me, I was there for them, like they were there for me.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Kenny Omega explained why he and Don Callis are determined to change the industry and my fans should toss aside their preconceived notions of wrestling. Read more at this link.

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