Kenny Omega knew he couldn't rely strictly on athleticism.
Omega is heralded as one of the greatest performers of this generation, blending athleticism with storytelling and turning in memorable matches in a variety of styles throughout his career.
Omega is currently banged up and set to miss time to "fix things" due to his rough schedule in 2021 where he carried the world title for three different promotions.
Speaking to CBC, Omega discussed how relying on pure athleticism wasn't conducive for a long career in wrestling.
"I recognized that we all break down," he said. "There's a very short shelf life to this sort of style. You burn the candle at both ends, and all you have to look back at on your body of work is that you pushed yourself athletically, right? Maybe you can pop in a tape, a DVD, a file or whatever at some point in time, say, like, 'Hey, guys, look, I used to do this back in the day.' But for me, that wasn't enough. I was dedicating everything to it. I had lost a lot in my personal life to wrestling. I wanted to make these connections both with the fans and my comrades [in] wrestling, right, my workmates. I didn't want to do them a disservice by going through all of this mental preparation, this physical preparation, just to have a match that isn't appreciated in the grand scheme of things."
Though Omega implemented more storytelling in his matches, he continued to have physical matches throughout his career with the likes of Kazuchika Okada, Bryan Danielson, Hangman Page, PAC, Hiroshi Tanahashi and more.
Omega will reportedly undergo surgery for his "shoulder, knee and abdominal issues, and likely for a septum issue."
It is unknown when he will return to the ring.
