Chris Jericho fordert Kenny Omega zu einem Match bei Wrestle Kingdom 12 heraus

Zitat

Chris Jericho Wrestle Kingdom Deal Reportedly In The Works Since August

Chris Jericho has reportedly been in talks to appear at Wrestle Kingdom since August — and it sounds like Y2J’s upcoming cruise may have factored into his decision to venture outside of WWE.

ProWrestling.com first reported weeks ago that Jericho had been in discussions with NJPW officials and the site claims the plan to wrestle Kenny Omega has been in place since mid-summer.

Furthermore, Chris Jericho talked about his upcoming cruise on Killing the Town recently and it may shed some light on why he’s working with New Japan/Ring of Honor.

The 46-year-old wrestler explained that he’s financially responsible for “Chris Jericho’s Rock-n-Wrestling Rager at Sea” and wanted to partner with a promotion for the wrestling side of things. Chris admits he tried to get the NXT brand to perform on the cruise, but was denied after months of talks. Chris then told Triple H he’d still be doing the cruise without them.

He also told Busted Open in March that he was unsure if he’d ever return to WWE.

Since the announcement that Y2J will be wrestling Kenny Omega at WK12 there has been massive speculation about whether Jericho is working in conjunction with WWE on this deal — since he’s long said it’s the only place he’d want to work — but all signs point to Jericho doing this on his own.

[Blockierte Grafik: http://up.picr.de/30871025qk.jpg]

[Blockierte Grafik: http://up.picr.de/30871726la.png]

Alles anzeigen

Zitat

Kenny Omega Reacts To Chris Jericho At Wrestle Kingdom, Says Everyone In WWE Is Below Him

[Blockierte Grafik: http://up.picr.de/30876169vd.jpg]

IWGP United States champ Kenny Omega says there’s nobody in WWE on his level — and that’s why he believes Chris Jericho is coming to Japan to face him in a match at Wrestle Kingdom 12.

Omega spoke about their upcoming encounter during the WK12 press conference on Monday morning and said he’s been looking for a challenger like Y2J since the day he won the belt.

Kenny says he respected Jericho’s career path and always thought he’d end his career in WWE the same way. However, as he got older and wiser, his dream changed. Kenny says he now wants to be a star through New Japan and help them expand into America.

“There’s a ceiling here. You can only get so famous. Pro wrestling can only get so popular. My dream is to break that ceiling. It always has been.” He continued, “Are we only big in Japan now? No. Everyone knows who we are. Everyone knows New Japan, but there’s still that ceiling. There’s still the image that we can never compete. Watch me compete.”

When a reporter asked about WWE, the 34-year-old responded: “WWE, in general — you can quote me on this I don’t care — everyone there is so below me. No one can put together a performance like me from there. Anyone that’s copying anyone is copying me. I’m the trend right now.” This doesn’t apply to Jericho though, because Omega says he’s been in multiple companies and leaves WWE whenever.

Alles anzeigen

Zitat

Backstage News On If Chris Jericho Is Under WWE Contract, If A WWE Return Is Expected

Despite recent reports, Chris Jericho is not under WWE contract and has been a free agent since his WWE contract expired in May, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer. Jericho will be facing IWGP U.S. Champion Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12 on January 4th, 2018 at the Tokyo Dome in what is currently a one-shot deal. It will be his first match outside of WWE since 1999, when he left WCW to sign with WWE.

Jericho and Omega had been verbally feuding on social media over the past couple of weeks and it was clear that they were building to something. As noted via Wrestling Observer Radio, Jericho got the idea for a match with Omega while watching the build-up to the Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather fight this past summer. Jericho wanted to come up with something big that people thought they would never see and approached mutual friend, Don Callis, who works as the English color commentator for New Japan Pro Wrestling events on New Japan Pro Wrestling World. Callis approached Omega with the idea, and then they took it to NJPW head booker, Gedo. They had a secret meeting in August in New York, however the deal wasn't completed until October. The promo from Jericho above that aired this past weekend at NJPW Power Struggle was filmed about two weeks ago in Los Angeles, shortly after the deal was finalized.

"The last couple of months, I've been working on it," Jericho said of the deal on the most recent episode of Talk Is Jericho. "Keeping it a secret from all of you was actually so surprised and happy that it ended up staying a secret. Nobody knew until the match was announced at the end of Kenny's match in Osaka [Japan] the other day, which was in the middle of the night for everybody."

According to The Observer, Jericho's last WWE contract expired at WrestleMania 33 this past April, however he signed a one-month extension that ended in May when he dropped the WWE U.S. title to Kevin Owens on SmackDown Live. Jericho worked a few WWE shows in Japan over the summer as well as one episode of SmackDown in late July as a surprise, however those were as a free agent. As noted, Jericho was asked to work WWE TLC against Finn Balor in late September after Bray Wyatt was forced to pull out of the show, however he couldn't do it due to other commitments.

Meltzer noted that people close to the situation expect Jericho to return to WWE in 2018, with one source saying that it could be as early as the RAW 25th anniversary show in January. It was noted that Jericho returning at the RAW 25th anniversary would be a bigger deal coming off of a high profile NJPW match, given the response that AJ Styles received coming from NJPW. It was noted that WWE is said to have no issue with Jericho doing the match with Omega.

Jericho is working with ROH for his cruise next year in October, with Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks being confirmed for the cruise. Jericho had originally approached WWE about having NXT talent perform on the cruise, but they turned it down.

Alles anzeigen

---

Zitat

Backstage News On Kenny Omega's NJPW Contract Expiring Soon, If He Is WWE Bound

Kenny Omega's contract status New Japan Pro Wrestling was huge news a year ago, when many wondered if he would jump ship and become a free agent. This time around, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Omega's contract with NJPW expires on January 31, 2018, but according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there's little talk of him leaving. Omega, the current IWGP United States Champion, has said himself that barring any unforeseen issues, he plans on signing with New Japan for another year. Dave Meltzer wrote that Omega's new deal would increase his pay considerably and it would give him extra authority as a creative voice in all of his angles.

Omega has already been announced for shows beyond his NJPW contract, such as the Ring Of Honor Supercard of Honor on April 7. He's expected to highlight that card. The fact that he's most likely staying with New Japan is why officials feel comfortable announcing him for future shows, unlike last year when they felt it was a probability that he would be joining the WWE. Even though he had said he planned on staying, it wasn't 100 percent until he actually signed the deal earlier this year.

This time around, Omega is a major part of NJPW and ROH's plans for 2018. He made his intentions clear earlier this month when he told Tokyo Sports, "I'm staying in New Japan 100 percent. This is where wrestlers can be themselves and fight for themselves. I want to show how great a place it is."

Omega was recently challenged by Chris Jericho to a match at Wrestle Kingdom 12 on Jan. 4. Jericho reportedly negotiated the deal with NJPW and it's expected to be a one-off deal.

Alles anzeigen