NJPW Star Kenny Omega says he respects Seth Rollins and finds the co-opting of his move to be a "great compliment." However, he also thinks it's "funny."
Rollins has had a few finishing moves since joining WWE in 2010. Most famously he had to stop using his Curb Stomp maneuver because of perceived concussion risk and he used The Pedigree while under the tutelage and in a feud with Triple H. He recently debuted a move which is a ripcord wrist lock into a knee strike to the head. The move has also been seen in Omega's match against Kazuchika Okada. Omega calls it the "Rain Trigger" as it is a take on Okada's ripcord wrist lock to lariat move called the "Rain Maker." In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Omega said he noticed the move being used by Rollins and said he could see it as a compliment.
“If he was inspired by my match to add that to his arsenal, it’s a great compliment. A finishing move is an important part of one’s character–and sometimes success. So for him, being a top guy in WWE, it’s cool that he chose something that I’d used earlier in the year during my match with Okada," said Omega.
Some fans noticed a vague tweet where Omega alluded to Rollins using the move. He later tweeted the following saying he was not upset but still called it "thievery".
To clarify,I'm not upset.The thievery of late is blatant/funny but anyone is free to put their own spin on stuff.I'll be out doing the same
— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) April 25, 2017
He told Sports Illustrated he respected Rollins and reiterated he was not angry.
“As for the tweet, a lot of guys don’t know that I used to travel with Rollins all of the time in ROH. We never became the closest of friends, but we’re definitely cool with each other, and the mutual respect has always been there. If I was legitimately angry, I’d just flat out say so. I’m not one to shy away from speaking my mind," said Omega.
Omega was the center of rumors earlier this year when fans thought he might show up in the royal rumble match. Also during the interview, Omega talked about Shinsuke Nakamura, defending his G1 Climax title, and New Japan Pro Wrestling coming to America this summer.
The rest of the interview can be found at SI.com.
