'Virtual Pro Wrestling 2' remains the best wrestling game ever, in my opinion.
— Kenny Omega
There's a lot of deep emotional connections between wrestlers.
The IWGP title makes me a legend. I've committed half my life to this, and it's worth all the sacrifice. Not only was it worth it, but it was worth it and then some.
As naturally athletic as I'm gifted to be, where certain things came easily, I always rely on my brain first.
It's no secret that I love the country, and Japan has always felt like a second home to me.
Even my most physical matches in New Japan have all been athletic contests, and generally, they've all been fair and square. It's been this new, strong style we've been trying to create in New Japan, with my own personal style.
I had always wanted a top spot, ever since I came to Japan in 2008.
A finishing move is an important part of one's character - and sometimes success.
I am a very firm believer in Cody Rhodes. I think he is fantastic, an absolute superstar. Unbelievable in the ring, great timing, great pacing - he's in great physical conditioning, can cut a heck of a promo, and just an all-around good guy.
I can be multi-cultural, multi-lingual, work a physical style, push forward entertaining storylines, and be the more worldly entertainment that the company needs.
The problem with Deep South to me is that there was a group that were tight with the boss, and they would always go out and drink and have barbeques. Then, when WWE would say, 'Who should we look at?' Bill Demott would say, 'Oh, look at this guy and this guy.' Of course those were his buddies.
Everything we do in general, there's gonna be a percentage of risk. Me, making my entrance to the ring, there's actually a percentage of risk I'm going to trip and fall and hurt myself. Me, getting up on the apron, there's a percentage of risk.
What true 'Strong Style' really is, is the battle of the heart of man. It's not about how strong and how forceful you're throwing your blows. It's showing the never-say-die attitude of the human spirit. As long as it looks like you're fighting and giving your all, people will believe.
I can comfortably say that I very much dislike a person like Jim Cornette, so the day that he disappears from this business permanently, I think, will be a happy day for professional wrestling.
You should never bury someone to forward your own personal interest. And I would never do that to anyone else on the planet.
Before going to developmental, I had next to no fundamentals and that was sort of, doing cool chain wrestling and using a lot of holds and stuff.
There are times you break up with a loved one, a friend, or whatever. You feel alone. It's a very easy feeling to understand - the feeling of loss, heartache, and pain.
In high school, despite my involvement on four different sports teams, I threw my duties of being a jock out the window and spent my spare time in wrestling training or on the PS2.
The WWE belt means nothing; it means absolutely nothing. They pass around that belt like a hot potato. I probably have a neighbor on my block who held that belt at one point. There is no prestige to that belt whatsoever.
There are people who would love to see me fail.
I'm lucky that my best strength as a wrestler has always been my brain.
I still feel there is more to this Kenny Omega character, and there are more stories I need to tell, and New Japan allows me that freedom. That is a freedom I earned through the hard work I put into the company.
The Bullet Club has sort of become this pop-culture phenomenon. You don't even have to like wrestling or follow our product, and you can wear a Bullet Club shirt, and it's cool.
The Young Bucks and myself are always full of ideas.
If I were ever in a position to appear more for ROH, I would accept nothing less than to be recognized as the best - which would mean having to challenge the top dogs/champions.
Back in the day, when I was getting into the business, you could watch Pro Wrestling Noah. You could watch Ring Of Honor Wrestling, and a lot of people would say, 'the best wrestling in the world is actually at Ring Of Honor.'
I went from being a junior - and probably set to be Kushida's arch-nemesis until the cows came home - to suddenly being vaulted into the heavyweight title picture for the Intercontinental championship. That taught me a lesson: I couldn't put a limit on myself.
A lot of people think that comedy is sort of a cop out to not wrestling seriously, but I actually would argue that comedy is much more difficult than wrestling seriously because you have to be creative in almost everything that you do if you want the comedy to make sense within the realms of pro wrestling.
As a professional wrestler in the position I am in, I would rather have people remember my matches for an emotion or for a certain thought it evoked when they saw it.
Really, Tanahashi belongs in the WWE. He can be the next Roman Reigns.
It is always funny to see a grown man bully get beat up by a little girl or anything.
For me personally, I think too much emphasis is put on, 'Okay, how cool are my moves?' and, 'How do I string them together?' 'How do I get this move in the match within this time limit?' and that's it.
I always try to be safe; even when something looks dangerous, it actually isn't to me.
You're not going to get a seven-star match or six or five in a seven-minute segment, but I always do the best I can to make that segment memorable and entertaining, and I think that's always the name of the game.
As a kid, when the neighbors were out playing street hockey or tackle football, my friends and I were in my basement with the NES/SNES.
This IWGP title means more with me than any WWE championship.
I really want to be an integral part of the New Japan brand in the United States - and other countries, for that matter, too. I feel that I have a certain versatility that other wrestlers do not.
I loved DDT for the freedom; I was able to tell the wackiest and wildest of stories but also test myself as an athlete.
As an artist, I really feel I need an outlet to exhibit all of my skills.
When you are in WWE, you're really strapped down by their rules and writing.
I'm not one to shy away from speaking my mind.
We're always driven by our mindset and feeling on a particular show day, so you'll never know what you'll get until you see it happen in the ring.
Of course I'm not stupid enough to think that we could take on WWE head-on and win, because they're too big of a monster.
Not to knock TNA, but there's too much hokey talking and segments that don't really involve wrestling.
While I'm still healthy, while I still have ideas in this crazy head of mine, I want to contribute, and I want to do things that are going to make wrestling fans happy and are going to make new people into wrestling fans that were wrestling fans before. I want to contribute in that manner.
I don't want people to look back at my matches and say, 'When you did that move, it was good, and I liked it because it was cool.' I want people to sort of remember a rush of images and the emotion that they felt when they saw it. That's when I think you have a real masterpiece in your hands.
Here's the thing: Tanahashi has this idea that wrestling has to be a certain way. There are borders that you shouldn't cross. Wrestling should be wrestling; there's a 'classic' way. But the thing is, when I watch a Tanahashi match, I feel nothing.
Everyone loves to laugh.
I try to think of things in levels, pain levels and such, injury levels, like, 'How bad is this injury supposed to be? How much should I be selling?' And I think it also helps with the emotional attachment of fans when you're trying to tell a story as well.
I don't like to risk - I'm actually not a tough guy at all, make no mistake about it, so I'm not going to do something that I'm scared of. So, if something looks dangerous, at the time I didn't think it was, because I'm the first person to cower away from a risk of injury if there seems to be one.
