NJPW IWGP Champion Kenny Omega recently participated in an AXS TV conference call, and below are some call highlights via Sports Illustrated.
On his role as IWGP Champion exceeding in-ring work:
“I really want this opportunity as champion to make some waves with the company,” said Omega, who is fluent in both English and Japanese. “I would love to use my voice and talents to be heard all around the world.
“I want to do more media in the United States and Canada, but also establish myself more in Japan in TV land and radio. To me, it sort of sucks to watch other sports get so much support from the general public, in Japan especially. If I watch an instant noodles commercial, or a beer commercial, or a whiskey or chocolate commercial, it’s always going to be a baseball star that guest stars, or a golfer. You never really see a wrestler, unless it’s purely in an over-the-top comedic role.
On working with The New Day at E3:
“That’s all about trying something new and a merger of worlds,” said Omega. “The gaming world is actually really big, and New Japan really doesn’t understand that yet. This is a very, very new thing for New Japan, sort of risky business, like ‘I can’t believe we’re doing this.’ So it’s cool for them to trust me at the helm to do something new like this and show them there are all these other worlds we need to tap into, and CEO is hopefully the start of that.”
