Kenny Omega says his brief time training in WWE‘s developmental system made him question himself and if he was truly destined to reach the top of the industry.

Omega is gearing up to face Will Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4th. This feud between two of the best pro wrestlers in the world has been cultivated over the last year. He claims to be disgusted by the way New Japan has been operated since he left the promotion in 2019.

Ospreay has arguably become the top Gaijin (foreigner) in NJPW since Omega’s departure. He claims that he’s carried the torch through the pandemic years. That he and the United Empire is the shot in the arm that New Japan needs.

Long before Kenny Omega established himself as one of the greatest wrestlers of his generation, the former IWGP & AEW champion was still finding his way. He wrestled for Deep South Wrestling, a former WWE developmental territory.

In October 2005, Omega was sent to Deep South Wrestling (DSW), WWE’s then-developmental territory for a tryout, after which he was offered a developmental contract and subsequently assigned to DSW full-time.

In August 2006, he requested his release from his contract. Omega later stated that his time in DSW was poor He particularly criticized promoters Bill DeMott, Jody Hamilton and trainer Bob Holly.

Omega spoke with Monthly Puroresu to hype Wrestle Kingdom. He spoke about his time in DSW, and what about it made him question if the wrestling he fell in love with still existed.

Kenny Omega: I never really did think that I had what it took. But the reason I went to the Harley Race camp in Elgin, Missouri was because it was for an opportunity to be implemented into the dojo system of Pro-Wrestling NOAH.

In the end, I was selected by Johnny Ace to go to WWE instead. And I thought, “Well, this is a different kind of opportunity, and maybe this is kind of where my destiny is guiding me towards, so I’m not going to ignore it.”

I did go into the WWE developmental system, Deep South Wrestling at the time, and it wasn’t for me. At that point I had thought maybe wrestling isn’t for me because I was thinking at the highest level, when it becomes more of a business rather than a passion. Maybe it isn’t what made me fall in love with wrestling to begin with.