“My best matches … I wrestled in the DDT way”: Kenny Omega talks NJPW, intergender wrestling and his return to DDT

Kenny Omega received a hero’s welcome when he finally returned to DDT for their Ultimate Party 2019 card in Tokyo this past weekend. He teamed with with old friend and current AEW Women’s World Champion, Riho, against TJPW ace, Miyu Yamashita and his former DDT rival, Antonio Honda, in a special mixed tag team match.

The long goodbye

Kenny Omega wrestled in DDT from 2008–2014 before signing a full-time deal with NJPW. Within two years, Omega had shot to the top of New Japan after winning the G1 Climax 26, then skyrocketed in popularity around the world after his highly-regarded main event IWGP World Heavyweight title match against Kazuchika Okada at the beginning of 2017.

From then until his departure from the company earlier this year, many in the industry agreed that Omega was the best in the business; he even won the last year’s Lou Thesz/Ric Flair Wrestler of the Year award. But to press last Sunday, Omega revealed how much influence DDT’s wrestling style had on him during his stint with NJPW. “Every time I wrestled my best matches, my best performances, I wrestled … in the DDT way.”

This might come as a shock to hardcore fans who were introduced to the more streamlined, more traditional pro wrestler-version of Omega in NJPW, or to those unfamiliar of his distinct work in the past with DDT.

When Omega announced he’d be leaving NJPW via Tokyo Sports, he also mentioned that the door would be left open for him to still work for NJPW on occasion, though it’s still yet to happen, and it doesn’t appear as though it will any time soon due to the severe nature of the split.

Despite their now-tattered relationship, Omega expressed his feelings for those at NJPW and claimed there’s no ill will on his side about the falling out. “Still love everyone, still love New Japan! But the point is [that] I never forgot my roots, I never forgot my home, and that was DDT.”

Mixed-match challenges

Omega also spoke with media about his interest in mixed tag wrestling. In the past, Omega has worked mixed tags for both DDT and as a freelancer in Japan, but never had the chance to do so while working with NJPW, and understandably so, as one could easily imagine it’d be seen by many as a betrayal of the company’s well-established “strong style” brand, a marketing term coined by Antonio Inoki to describe NJPW’s in-ring product and training style.

Omega’s more forward-thinking, comedy-infused athletic style of mixed gender wrestling just won’t sit well with prescriptivist fans and pundits of today. Even in 2019, male wrestlers still seem to have an aversion to wrestling females. There are still only a handful top companies in the United States trying their hand at inter-gender booking. In 2014, Lucha Underground booked mixed matches and made stars out of Taya Valkyrie, Thunder Rosa and Sexy Star, and arguably ignited the wider trend. WWE dabbled in mixed matches with their Facebook-exclusive Mixed Match Challenge tournament. IMPACT’s Tessa Blanchard and Sami Callahan are feuding over the promotion’s world title right now.

The plates in the pro wrestling landscape are shifting as you read this. Fresh, necessary new faces are appearing in promotions all over the world, both male and female. The pro wrestling continuum will continue to expand and at varying rates, but things won’t look the same as they will in the future. What Omega has figured out is what works for him, which is DDT’s more experimental tongue-in-cheek approach.

Kenny Omega will wrestle Jon Moxley at AEW Full Gear in Baltimore, MD in a Lights Out unsanctioned brawl on Nov. 9. For more information, visit All Elite Wrestling online.