Kenny Omega has sat down to talk with Sports Illustrated ahead of tonight’s AEW World Championship match with MJF.
As of writing, current AEW World Champion MJF has held the gold for 343 days. Defeating Jon Moxley at Full Gear, The Devil has title defences against the likes of Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole and Samoa Joe under his belt and looks to be going from strength to strength each time he has to put the ‘Triple B’ on the line.
However, as they’ve made reference to on Dynamite in recent weeks, MJF’s time on top of AEW is getting close to overtaking the length of Kenny Omega’s reign, who himself held the gold for 346 days. Subsequently, The Cleaner became keen to defend his record and a match was made between the two for tonight’s edition of Collision.
Now, while sitting down with Sports Illustrated, Kenny Omega has previewed his upcoming championship match with MJF, stating the importance of a victory tonight and how it would go a long way in helping him realise his destiny as the greatest champion AEW has ever had.
“This is a chance to add to my legacy. It’s my destiny to be remembered as the greatest champion AEW ever had. To do that, I need multiple runs.”
-Kenny Omega
Next, Omega was asked about his feeling towards that AEW World Championship and how it stacks up against his former accolades.
“It conveys the same feeling to me that I felt for the IWGP title,” said Omega. “It’s the pinnacle of what the sport represents in America. That might be different in Japan or Mexico or the UK, but for me, the list of champions in AEW features some of the most incredible athletes to ever exist in this sport. Having my name on that list is quite an honor. To say I’ve won it once, that’s quite an accomplishment. To say I’ve won it twice would be even better, and I’d also still be able to say I’ve held it the longest–the cherry on top of the sundae.”
-Kenny Omega
Omega then acknowledged the opportunity he has to stop MJF setting a new record with AEW’s top prize, to imagine a world in which he comes away with a victory tonight, he then began thinking about all the high-quality matches he could have if he leaves Collision as the AEW World Champion.
“But if Max wins the match, I’ll have to stomach that he is the one to break my record. This is my chance to do something about it and there is a lot I want to prove with the belt. My responsibilities would start after the match. There would be a lot of work to do, and a lot of losses to avenge. The last time we clashed, I was on the losing end against Jay White. I’ve lost a number of six-man challenges against The House of Black. I don’t expect anyone to remember this factoid, but my home indie in Winnipeg is PCW, and that’s where I clashed with Samoa Joe and lost. Swerve is a top contender, and he just beat Hangman. There is no shortage of prime time matches I could have in a second reign as champion.”
-Kenny Omega
Regardless of whether its Omega or MJF who walk away with the gold, we know that ‘Switchblade’ Jay White is set to challenge for the AEW World Championship at Full Gear on November 18, and is likely to have a vested interest in tonight’s outcome.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Kenny Omega and MJF ahead of tonight’s AEW World Championship match as we hear more.
