#205: Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega, NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 (1/4/2023).
This is for Ospreay’s IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.
I’d like to think that anticipation for this match was so high that it convinced the Japanese govermnent to lift COVID restrictions for this event.
There’s a ton of history and back and forth trash talk between these two coming into this event. Omega left New Japan in 2019 to help form AEW, and he seemingly left the company in the hands of Ospreay, the next big foreign star. In Omega’s mind, his absence and Ospreay’s rise to the top of the card has ruined New Japan. He says that it’s not COVID’s fault that crowds have gotten smaller, and that the fans are silent – it’s Ospreay’s fault.
Ospreay took great exception to this, and made it known to Omega during the press conference for this event, talking about the sacrifices and struggles that Ospreay went through to carry New Japan on his back during the pandemic, including the 14 day quarantine periods in small rooms, the lack of a crowd energy, and the fact that he was starving after every show because all food places were closed due to a curfew. He also told Omega how he watched his best friend’s funeral through an iPad due to the pandemic. He says that’s more of a striggle than Omega having to drive around Florida to wrestle in AEW.
Omega has also made it known that he blames Ospreay for the fact that he couldn’t share his final New Japan moments with his best friend Kota Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom 13, due to Ospreay sending him to the hospital during their match on the same event. Needless to say, there’s a ton of hostility building to this match.
Both men get fancy entrances for this, with Omega mimicking the One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy, while Ospreay returns to his Aerial Assassin gimmick, complete with “Elevated” as his theme once again.
Ospreay rushes Omega as the bell rings, and Omega smartly avoids it. They lock up, and Omega takes control of the arm. He slaps Ospreay’s head a few times. Omega with the side headlock takedown. Shoulder tackle by Omega, and Ospreay kicks himself back up. They shove each other, and slap each other hard. Ospreay gets Omega in the corner, and strikes him. Omega boots him away, and hits a hurricanrana. Ospreay lands on his feet, and hits one of his own, sending Omega to the floor.
Ospreay with a crossbody to Omega, and he continues to punch on him. Irish whip into the barricade by Ospreay. In the ring, Ospreay looks to dive off the ropes, but Omega stops him and pushes him back to the floor, landing on the barricade. Omega brings him back into the ring, and punches directly on his back. Omega hits his “You Can’t Escape” combo, the fireman’s carry into the middle rope moonsault. He covers, and Ospreay kicks out.
Hip toss by Omega, and a hard kick to the spine. He looks to pin him with one foot, but Red Shoes ain’t putting up with that shit. In the corner, Omega drives his boot into Ospreay’s neck, and then elbows the back of his head. He connects with a very hard irish whip into the turnbuckle that moves the ring slightly. Omega removes the blue turnbuckle and tosses it to the outside. More hard stomps to the spine of Ospreay, as Omega is definitely playing up the heel here.
Ospreay avoids a whip to the exposed turnbuckle, and he connects with several elbows to the head. Omega kicks him straight into the turnbuckle, with the steel hitting Ospreay on the spine. Omega with a nasty backbreaker next, and Ospreay is able to kick out. Omega sends his knee into Ospreay’s midsection, but the champion is able to catch Omega in the abdominal stretch next. Omega hits a hip toss to escape, and gets flapjacked on the ropes.
Ospreay rushes him with a big boot to the face. They fight for a suplex, until Ospreay hits a Stundog Millionaire out of nowhere. Forearms by Ospreay, followed by a handspring corkscrew kick. Phenomenal Forearm connects flush, and Omega kicks out. Ospreay with a Kawada Kick to the face, and a chop. Omega with a chop of his own. Ospreay with the Dropsault and Enziguri Combo. On the apron, Ospreay chops Omega again, and Omega with one of his own.
Omega with a boot to the face, and Ospreay with a superkick. Ospreay looks for the Oscutter, but Omega holds onto the ropes, and Ospreay eats nothing but apron on that one. Omega grabs a table from under the ring, and slams it onto Ospreay’s back. He stomps the table into his spine, then he goes to the apron. Omega dives off with a double stomp, putting a hole into the table and driving it into Ospreay’s back. Omega hilariously poses with his face in the table, Shining Style.
Ospreay quickly fires back with strikes to Omega, followed by a suplex onto the broken table! Omega landed back first onto the legs of the table. Those Japanese tables? Zero give. Ospreay goes to the top rope, and hits a corkscrew moonsault onto Omega! Back in the ring, Ospreay hits a diving elbow into Omega’s head, and he gets a nearfall off of that. Springboard Oscutter is blocked, and Omega hits the V Trigger and the Poisonrana in succession.
Nasty looking fisherman neckbreaker by Omega, and Ospreay is able to kick out. Ospreay with a back elbow to the head, and Omega with a huge chop to the chest. He chops the spine like a true heel, as he places Ospreay on the top rope. Omega looks for a Tiger Suplex, and Ospreay lands on his feet! Robinson Special out of nowhere, followed by the Oscutter! He covers, and Omega is able to kick out. Ospreay with a big boot in the corner, followed by the Cheeky Nandos kick to the face, and another, followed by small kicks peppered in.
Omega is on the apron, and Ospreay pulls him up to the top rope with him. Forearm connects, and Omega responds by punching Ospreay in the gut. Ospreay with a hard chop to the chest. Ospreay looks for the Spanish Fly, but Omega fights it off, and hits a DDT on the exposed top turnbuckle! God damn, that spot is nastier every time I see it. Ospreay is on the floor, while Omega recovers in the ring. Ospreay is busted open bad from that move.
Ospreay nearly gets counted out, but Omega hits him with a baseball slide that sends him into the barricade, and he follows up with his Terminator Senton to the outside, onto Ospreay. Omega sets the broken table up against the barricade, then slams Ospreay’s off off AND through the table as well. If this were a 1990s Japanese table, Ospreay would be dead. Back in the ring, Omega with a spike Piledriver, and Ospreay barely, like barely, kicks out.
Omega takes top position, and unloads with punches to the head, and a stiff kick to the face. He hits a Snap Dragon Suplex next, and another. Ospreay looks out on his feet. Omega looks for the V Trigger, and Ospreay holds onto his leg. Omega with palm strikes to the back, followed by several nasty knees to the head. Jay Driller connects, and Ospreay gets his leg on the bottom rope. With Ospreay in the ropes, Omega connects with the V Trigger, sending him back to the floor.
Omega rolls Ospreay back into the ring, and goes to the top rope. Ospreay, whether on purpose or by accident, hits the ropes, crotching Omega. He unloads with a hard strike to Omega, then goes to the top rope, before immediately slipping back down. He slaps himself, and goes back to the top. He looks for a hurricanrana, but Omega slips out and flapjacks Ospreay, on the exposed turnbuckle again! Omega runs from the opposing corner and hits a V Trigger to the back of the head!
He places Ospreay on the top rope, and teases a top rope One Winged Angel. Ospreay fights it off, but Omega instead hits a Gut Wrench German Suplex from the top rope! He covers, and Ospreay kicks out! Omega with a V Trigger, and Ospreay kicks out again! Omega with another V Trigger to the head, followed by a slap. Another V Trigger, and Ospreay blocks the third. Omega with hard punches to the head, but Ospreay is gutting his way through the pain!
Omega with some punches to the head, and Ospreay responds with Kawada Kicks and several chops. Another V Trigger by Omega, and Ospreay fights back with a Liger Bomb for a 2 count. Rolling elbow to the back of the head, and Omega just barely avoids the Hidden Blade, but he can’t avoid it to the front! Ospreay with a top rope Oscutter, and Omega is able to kick out. Ospreay looks for Storm Breaker, but Omega slips out and tries for One Winged Angel. Ospreay escapes that and hits the Styles Clash!
Ospreay removes his elbow pad, and hits the Hidden Blade to the jaw! He covers, and Omega kicks out. Ospreay lifts Omega up for Storm Breaker, and Omega counters into a V Trigger. Ospreay bounces back with a weak Hidden Blade, as Omega holds onto his grip. They exchange forearm shots in the middle of the ring. Omega reverses one forearm shot with a Strait Jacket German Suplex for a nearfall. Omega retains wrist control, as Ospreay spits on him. Omega hits the Kamigoye, Kota Ibushi style, and then connects with the One Winged Angel for the victory to win and become a 2 time IWGP US Champion.
What a physical war this was. It was a spot fest here and there, but for the most part, this was a violent slugfest between two guys who can’t stand each other. Ospreay shined here as the gutsy babyface, fighting back as best as he could throughout, with flurries of offense, and high octane comebacks. But on this night, a heel Kenny Omega – arguably, the best kind of Kenny Omega – was a monster. Very different from the Omega we see in AEW, this Omega was a total dick head, bullying Ospreay for much of this match, and it peaked with that absolutely disgusting DDT on the top turnbuckle.
Omega, like Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in their match, was the foreign invader here, and he had his way with Ospreay, striking him with malice and tossing him around with no regard. I think that’s what makes this match so good is the fact that I think a lot of people were expecting something else. For instance, I think people expected this match to be what their Forbidden Door rematch later in 2023 was, but at Wrestle Kingdom 17, they got a version of the Omega/Jericho match from Wrestle Kingdom 12: a knock out, drag out brawl.
Ospreay’s selling here was really good, aside from when he shot right back up after having a table driven into his back. I thought he sold the DDT and bleeding well for the remainder of the match. Omega was great at selling his relentless and bloodthirsty character too. This was an incredible piece of business, and definitely the better of the two matches they had in 2023. Both guys played their roles well, and they brought a sense of legitimacy to this with how violent it got. They both knew the hostility present for this feud, and they made sure that the match translated that well.