Kenny Omega

Kenny Omega is back. That’s right. The Best Bout Machine made his long-awaited return on Wednesday's Dynamite to join The Young Bucks in the first round of the AEW World Trios Championship tournament.

The crowd greeted him with a warm welcome as he entered the Charleston Coliseum to compete in his first match in 277 days. It was a stark difference from the last time we saw the once-megalomaniacal champion, but the All Elite Wrestling fans clearly missed him.

It didn’t take long to realize The Cleaner wasn’t the same man who stood atop the company as its longest-reigning flagbearer, though.

The 38-year-old stepped out onto the stage for the first time since November 2021 with a familiar pose and accompanying pyro. However, he was sporting a shoulder brace and compression shirt under his ring jacket.

This was unfamiliar territory for his longtime fans. His hiatus to deal with several nagging injuries marked his longest time away from the squared circle in his entire career. Sure, we all expected him to show some rust or diminished athleticism. Instead, one of the most highly touted wrestlers of this generation looked human again.

It was a far cry from the conqueror who showed at Double or Nothing last year draped in world championship gold. Nevertheless, all of the collective title defenses and his record-setting 346-day reign as AEW world champion had taken their toll on him.

The price was high, but Omega accepted the challenge. Now he’s back to reunite with his best friends and make history again. Can he rise to the occasion, or will it take him more time than expected to return to form?

The Grueling Journey Back to Glory

During Wednesday night’s main event, the Canadian looked a step slower than usual, and his opponents targeted his surgically repaired shoulder throughout the match. He also failed to hit his trademark rolling fireman's carry and moonsault in the corner.

Regardless, Matt and Nick Jackson picked up the slack, and the trio looked as fluid at times as they were during their run with New Japan Pro-Wrestling. In the end, Omega landed a brutal V Trigger and secured the win with his One-Winged Angel.

The two-time NEVER Openweight six-man tag team champions have the most experience together, making them the early favorites to win this tournament. Still, it will be bitter work for The Elite with a stacked field ahead of them.

Omega looked gassed as he addressed the Charleston, South Carolina crowd after the match. During his closing promo, he and Don Callis didn’t gloat about his win like they did many times in 2021.

Instead, he spoke candidly. The Cleaner admitted he questioned whether he could return to AEW and compete at a high level again. He even said it would be a while before he would be able to challenge for a singles title again.

“This very much is a work in progress, and I’m very glad that all of you are joining me on this journey,” he said as the crowd cheered.

Again, this is quite a shift for Omega considering his run last year. Nonetheless, he immediately warned the audience that doesn’t make him a “good guy.”

His physical limitations may have humbled him a bit, but his mission statement remains the same. His vow to give his best effort wasn’t greedy or self-serving like his conquests before he left. No, this seemed more like the celebrated in-ring competitor Bryan Danielson came looking for following All Out 2021.

It may take some time for The Best Bout Machine, who produced a classic Dynamite with The American Dragon, to return.

However, the fighting spirit is there, and it will be a treat to watch him grow stronger throughout the AEW World Trios Championship tournament.

The Missing Piece

Ever since the founding member of All Elite Wrestling made the trek to the United States, he has fought an uphill battle to establish himself for a new fanbase.

NJPW fans know how great he is, but mainstream fans didn’t see his acclaimed matches with the best the Japanese promotion had to offer. So, they didn’t understand the hype.

It was quite the undertaking for Omega as he struggled during his first year in his new home. In 2020, he made a massive impact as one-half of the AEW world tag team champions and eventually claimed the company’s top prize. But some of his biggest detractors still didn’t see what made him so special.

Watching him stand at the top of the industry as a decorated star probably didn’t connect with some viewers. His attempt to find out if he still has it in the final leg of his career could. This story could be some of his most engaging material with AEW to date.

It’s hard to tell someone who didn’t experience his greatness how talented Omega is when so many fans already put him on a pedestal.

This is a clean slate for some viewers. To that end, his empathetic push to recover and regain his confidence over the next few months could finally be the missing piece for them.

Former AEW world champion Kenny Omega is reportedly on the verge of returning after missing the past eight months due to injury.

According to Fightful.com's Sean Ross Sapp, AEW talent and staff have been told that Omega is "nearing a return."

Omega's last match was at Full Gear in November, and it saw him drop the AEW World Championship to former tag team partner "Hangman" Adam Page, ending his 346-day reign, which still stands as a record for the AEW world title.

Omega was reportedly working through multiple injuries for some or all of his world title run, as Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reported shortly after Full Gear that Omega was dealing with knee, shoulder and abdominal ailments, plus a hernia, and was likely to undergo multiple surgeries.

AEW President Tony Khan didn't provide specifics regarding Omega's injuries, nor did he provide a firm timeline for his return, but he did tell PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson in February that Omega would be back at some point in 2022.

Rehabbing from his injuries in an effort to get back in the ring has taken its toll on Omega, as the 38-year-old veteran recently gave some insight into the process during a CEOGaming Twitch stream (h/t WrestlingInc's Dakota Cohen), saying:

"If I get another major setback, that's it … I'm done, because I can't do this ever again. Two times, three times a day, really painful rehab … What's it going to be like when I get back in the ring? I have no idea. Scary, actually.

"There is a different kind of expectation put on me, and I think that anything less than what [the fans are] expecting, which is already unrealistic, is going to lead to a lot of ridicule."

When AEW officially launched in 2019, Omega was widely considered to be the company's top star, along with Chris Jericho.

Even as big names such as CM Punk, Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole joined the promotion last summer, Omega remained at the top of the card until injuries forced him to take some time off.

If Omega returns in the near future, it would be a major coup for AEW since Punk, Danielson and Cole are all out due to injury.

Punk has been an especially big loss since he had to get surgery shortly after beating Page for the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing, prompting AEW to determine an interim world champion, which ended up being Jon Moxley thanks to a win over Hiroshi Tanahashi at Forbidden Door.

When Omega returns, it stands to reason that he will have some involvement with The Young Bucks, reDRagon and Cole, given what he was doing before getting injured.

Leading up to Full Gear last year, Omega was the leader of The Elite with The Young Bucks and Cole by his side. After Omega landed on the shelf, Cole took on a leadership role.

Also, Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish arrived from WWE and formed an alliance with them, creating some uncertainty regarding what would happen when Omega returned.

The match most fans likely want to see is Omega and The Young Bucks against Cole and reDRagon, although that won't be possible until Cole is cleared to return as well.

Regardless of how he is used, Omega returning would provide AEW's ailing roster with a huge boost, and he would replace some of the star power that has been lost to recent injuries.

Cody Rhodes may have left AEW, but his legacy will live on in the company's upcoming video game.

Kenny Omega confirmed Rhodes will still be a playable character in AEW Fight Forever, which is set for release later this year.

“This may come as a surprise to people, but Cody is still in the game,” Omega told Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. “I was very passionate about making sure his legacy and position within the company were preserved.

“We’ve built this game from the ground up, starting everything from scratch. That’s why I thought this game could coincide with the birth of this company. You get to experience AEW from the beginning, from day one. The game is going to reflect a lot of that, even though our locker room is ever-changing.”

AEW's first console video game has been in the works since 2020, and it makes sense from a logical perspective that Rhodes would be in the game. It's likely his rights for the game were already negotiated before he even began thinking about leaving for WWE.

That said, it may be a little odd seeing one of WWE's top babyfaces in an AEW game nearly a year after his departure—especially considering Rhodes is not in WWE 2K22.

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