RF VIDEO had the chance to sit down with one of Pro Wrestlings most charismatic talents in the world, New Japan’s Bullet Club member Kenny Omega for his first ever RFVIDEO tell all shoot interview!!! During this interview you will hear all about Kenny’s trials and tribulations of breaking into the business as Kenny was never trained officially by anyone. He was that good and picked up the business easily. You will hear how he made his way onto the indy scene in Canada as he shares some early memories from up North and has some very scary road stories as well from Canada, especially the time his van filled with wrestlers almost fell thru the ice in the middle of no where. Kenny goes into great details of a hilarious story on his try out at Harley Race camp which landed him his developmental deal in the WWE.
You have all heard about the horrors of the Deep South developmental system run by Bill Demott and Jody Hamilton and Kenny who was one of the most gifted talents to step in their rings quit and you will find out what pushed him to the brink, what Bill did to others, what the group did as a whole to bring attention to the incidents, who Bill singled out and what really went on down in Deep South because we cover it all, from the workers he shared times with in the system to his thoughts on their developmental system as a whole. Your not going to want to miss this. What was a typical week down in Deep South really like?
Kenny takes us thru some carny experiences, on how he almost got his first TNA try out and why he went on roller coasters instead. It wasn’t long after that he was starting to get fed top indy guys in his Canadian fed and what happened when Samoa Joe did not want to lose a match against Kenny because of outside politics. We talk about his first meetings with AJ Styles, Red, Ultimo Dragon and other greats from the indy scene during the early 2000’s.
We cover the indy scene from PWS to JAPW that Kenny made a name for himself working on the East Coast. What did he think of Jerry Lynn, Low KI, Teddy Hart, Rhino and Jushin Liger.
Kenny landed a job in ROH but never got the big push or a contract. What was his take on his time in ROH and why he is not in a hurry to go back there. We cover his matches in ROH with all the top dogs. Kenny is also a main fixture on one of the biggest indy companies on the West Coast PWG. We cover his time working with Bryan Danielson, Young Bucks, Roderick Strong and the entire infrastructure of PWG.
What is Kenny’s take on critics making fun of him and the Young Bucks for wrestling children or doing spots with them in the ring. We talk all about his match with the 9 year old girl and how it came about. This is a great story in itself and you will also learn how Kenny got a job in DDT from his viral videos which really gave him major attention.
You will hear tons of Japanese stories from DDT and we cover all of his major match ups that gave him match of the year candidates in the Observer. What lead to Kenny going to New Japan with Ibushi and of course we cover his run with the Bullet Club and how it came about. Want to know what happened with Jim Ross and Kenny after the Tokyo Dome show, you will find out in this interview as they had to go thru a crowd of fans back to their hotel. What was it like wrestling Finn Balor, but than Prince Devitt. Plus we throw him every New Japan name we could think of to give us his thoughts.
The biggest question that we wanted to ask, is if Kenny has any plans to come to the states and take what should be his, which is a top spot in NXT which should lead him to become a major player if he choices in the WWE. Watch his reaction when I ask him if there are any talks with him and the WWE and if he would like to go to NXT. His answer is amazing and will get people talking. What are his goals in New Japan and so much more!!!
This interview is a must if you follow the career of one of the best gifted pro wrestlers of this decade. When I first saw Kenny Omega, I saw a huge star in the making and after watching his shoot interview you will see the passion and love for the business that he has as well.
What are your first memories of pro wrestling? Who were your favorites?
Talk about what it was like growing up in Canada?
Did you grow up wanting to be a pro wrestler? You played ice hockey – was that something you wanted to follow through on?
You trained under Bobby Jay in Canada – how did you first get hooked up with him? What made you decide to start training?
Memories of his company, Top Rope Championship Wrestling?
Where did your initial surfer gimmick come from?
You dropped it for a Street Fighter esque gamer character – talk about your love of videogames and what led to you bringing them into your persona in the business?
What’s the inspiration for the Kenny Omega name?
What’s your reaction to attention you’ve gotten in the gaming community?
What are your favorite games and how much do you still play today?
Who’s the most hardcore gamer in the business as far as you know?
Memories of working the Tokyo Game Show (Japan’s version of E3)?
What’s the best pro wrestling videogame of all time?
What was the Canadian indy scene like in the early 2000s when you broke in?
What were the top groups there at the time and who were the top talents?
Do you remember any advice veterans who came in to the work the indies would give you?
Did you ever work any of the infamous Tony Condello tours and if so, what can you tell us about the experience?
Memories of teaming and feuding with Metallo in Premier Championship Wrestling?
Who were the standouts in Premier that you enjoyed wrestling?
Were there any Canadian talents from that era that you felt could have gone farther in the business and why didn’t they in your opinion?
What led to you getting your WWE developmental offer?
The story that has been repeated is that you did a Harley Race camp and were hired out of that camp. If so, memories of learning from Harley and who was your initial WWE contact?
Memories of your WWE tryout and your reaction when they offered you the deal?
You were assigned to Deep South – what were your initial reactions and thoughts to going there?
Initial thoughts on Jody Hamilton and Bill DeMott?
We may as well get this out of the way – how was Demott as a trainer and did you feel he took advantage of people?
Describe his training methods and why they weren’t good for WWE developmental?
Is it true that if you weren’t going out drinking with him, he wouldn’t push you to execs about going to the main roster?
Take us through a week in the life of training in DSW at the time?
How miserable were you at this point?
Was there anyone you could go to in WWE about it and if not, why not? How did they handle the issues.
How would DeMott react when he found out anyone complained about him.
Any memories of main roster guys coming to Deep South?
Memories of the following in DSW:
Angel Williams/Angelina Love
Derrick Neikirk
Eric Perez
Zack Ryder
G-Rilla/Brodus Clay
Shantelle Taylor
Mike Knox
Mike & Tracy Taylor
MVP
Matt Striker
Freakin’ Deacon/Luke Gallows
Chris Rombola
Oleg Prudius/Vladimir Kozlov
Kristall Marshall
Michelle McCool
Dan Rodimer
Trenesha Biggers/Rhaka Khan
Nick Mitchell
Krissy Vain
Jack Swagger
Kofi Kingston
Palmer Cannon
Elijah Burke
Danny Giomondo/Inferno
Ray Gordy
Ryan O’Reilly/Conor of Ascension
Jay Bradley
Miz
Kevin Matthews
Heath Miller
You requested you release from the company – how did John Lauritinaitis, Bill DeMott and Jody Hamilton react?
Have you ever regretted walking away from your deal?
Why do you think DeMott was protected so much by the company?
Do you think DeMott ruined careers?
Is it true you have shot down WWE offers to return since?
Would you be more interested in returning now since they have completely overhauled the system and Bill DeMott is no longer there?
After you left WWE, you pursued MMA – what led to that interest?
You began changing up what you did in the ring post- WWE – talk us through the mindset of completely breaking yourself down and starting from scratch again as a performer?
Memories of working the following on the indies in Canada:
AJ Styles
Amazing Red
Chris Sabin
Petey Williams
Samoa Joe
Ultimo Dragon
You started to pick up a lot of work in the Northeast indy scene after your WWE run. What led to you making those connections?
You’ve made a number of appearances for PWS – thoughts on the company?
Memories of teaming with and wrestling Jerry Lynn there?
Memories of the Majestic Mayhem tournament?
Memories of facing Davey Richards in PWS?
Memories of working for Jersey All Pro Wrestling and winning their Heavyweight title?
Memories of working with the following there:
Kazarian
Grimm Reefer
Jay Lethal
Teddy Hart
Low Ki
Rhino
B-Boy
Jushin Liger
As a Canadian, what’s your take on Teddy?
Memories of working the JAPW-New Japan tour of the United States?
What led to you getting booked by ROH to come into the company in 2008?
Initial memories of working for the company and thoughts on the style?
Memories of your series of matches against ROH champ Austin Aries?
Memories of working with:
Silas Young
Delirious
Chris Daniels.
Thoughts on Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as a promotion and your appearances there in California
What makes that place click vs. so many other indies that use much of the same talent?
Memories of teaming with Chuck Taylor there?
There’s talk Taylor intends to retire soon. What are your thoughts on that?
Memories of wrestling Bryan Danielson in PWG?
Thoughts and memories of working the following there:
Young Bucks
Roderick Strong
Brandon Bonham
Kevin Steen
Joey Ryan
Scott Lost
Brian Kendrick
Colt Cabama
Rick Knox
Ricochet
ACH
Zack Sabre Jr.
Martt Sydal
Were you surprised when they booked you to win the 2009 Battle of Los Angeles and the PWG title?
How did you first learn of DDT in Japan and what led to you trying to get booked there?
For fans who have never seen DDT, explain what makes it so unique and why it was such a great fit for you at the time?
Explain how DDT operates vs. how New Japan runs.
You got into the company by filming a video and challenging Kota Ibushi,. then placing it online. Were you surprised when the company bit and booked you?
Memories of wrestling Ibushi and teaming with him as the Golden Lovers?
Are you surprised that DDT has led to both you and Ibushi ending up in New Japan?
Memories of beating Kai for the World Junior Heavyweight championship and your long run with that belt?
Memories of El Generico coming into the company?
Explain the match where you wrestle a young 9 year old girl?
How about the match against the blow up doll?
Memories of wrestling the following in DDT:
Danshoku Suno
Isami Kodaka
Yuji Hino
Daisuke Sasaki
Kudo
Maka Tanahashou
Konosuke Takeshita
What led to you doing some appearances for All Japan?
You live in Japan now, but was it a big culture shock for you moving there?
What’s the best and worst thing about living in Japan vs. living in Canada?
Was it hard to leave the DDT promotion for New Japan?
Memories of your New Japan debut?
Were they initially only bringing you in as a team with Ibushi or did you get an idea early on they wanted you as a singles talent?
Memories of working the 2010 Best of Super Juniors tournament?
Memories of teaming with and wrestling Prince Devitt?
Thoughts on his success in NXT?
How different was New Japan behind the scenes to DDT?
What led to New Japan offering you a fulltime contract?
How did DDT react to all this?
What were your first thoughts when you learned they were making you Balor’s replacement in the Bullet Club?
Why has that stable worked so well?
Where did the Cleaner name come from?
Is it true you stopped speaking in Japanese on interviews on purpose?
Memories of teaming or wrestling against the following in NJPW
Time Splitters
Rysuke Taguchi
Tiger Mask
KUSHIDA as a single
Tenzan
Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows
Gedo & Jado
Shibata
Naito
Bad Luck Fale
Roppongi Vice
Tanahahi
Okada
Nakamura
Thoughts on New Japan’s relationship with ROH and the New Japan World streaming service making it easier for fans to follow the promotion?
Would you want to go back to ROH and represent New Japan there?
What’s the best part of living in Japan?
Favorite or least favorite travel stories?
Any favorite rib stories?
Any final message for your fans watching?