Between the G1 Climax, Best of the Super Juniors and World Tag League, a large chunk of New Japan’s annual schedule is centered around month-long round robin tournaments that push wrestlers’ endurance to their absolute limit. All Elite Wrestling star and executive vice president Kenny Omega is all too familiar with the tournaments, given that the former IWGP Heavyweight Championship took part in all three tournaments at least once and was the first non-Japanese wrestler to win the coveted G1 Climax and earn a match in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom. Now that he’s a higher-up in a different promotion, fans have wondered if AEW might introduce a similar concept to their weekly program.
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Omega confirmed in a new interview with ComicBook.com this week that conversations about introducing a tournament have taken place behind the scenes.
“Every one of those tournaments, they’re rough on the body and it’s tough to figure out a schedule to do so,” Omega said. “Whether it be a round robin tournament, a league style or one night we are definitely looking into a tournament format because people, as a [myself] fan even, I love tournaments. As, a performer they’re tough to do, but I think it really tests the athletes’ mettle and it really separates the men from the boys. Yeah, I would love to do a tournament. I don’t know what we’d call it. Don’t have any ideas for a name, but all of us have been brought on board with tournament. It’s just a matter of figuring out how.”
Tonight in #AEWKansasCity it’s @BASTARDPAC vs. @KennyOmegamanX in the first-ever in #AEW history a 30-Minute #IronManMatch!
Get your tickets at https://t.co/5WsWwyDkwZ or watch #AEWDynamite LIVE tonight & every Wednesday night on @TNTDrama 8e/7c. #AEWonTNT @AEWonTNT pic.twitter.com/O7QebCo8cX
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) February 26, 2020
Omega will compete in a 30-minute Iron Man match on this week’s AEW Dynamite against PAC, a match the latter has been begging for months to have. He’ll then have to turn around just three days later and defend his AEW World Tag Team Championships with Hangman Page against the Young Bucks at AEW Revolution.
Check out the full card for the Chicago pay-per-view in the list below:
- AEW World Championship: Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley
- AEW World Tag Team Championships: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page vs. The Young Bucks
- AEW Women’s World Championship: Nyla Rose vs. Kris Statlander
- Cody Rhodes vs. MJF
- Dustin Rhodes vs. Jake Hager
- Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara
