As much of the wrestling world heaps praise on the recent clash between Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega, Jim Cornette has offered a contrasting view as only he can.
The match at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door was a rematch from Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January which was also near-universally acclaimed. This time in Toronto, Ospreay was out for revenge as he tried to regain the IWGP United States Title months earlier.
Both men bled heavily, put their bodies on the line in spectacular fashion, and kept fans on their feet for pretty much the entire contest. Once the action was over and Ospreay had his hand raised, fans were quick to praise the bout as the best of the year and more.
However, in giving his assessment on his podcast the Jim Cornette Experience, the legendary manager was much less impressed and broke down why. Cornette said the match fell short of classics such as Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat because it lacked realism, adding that Ospreay and Omega’s work looked “phony.”
“The other Japanese guys on the show are so old and broken down or crippled or whatever, because of all the stupid sh*t they do. These guys have just started crippling themselves with all the stupid sh*t they do, so they can move, so it’s quicker. But they did the forearms to just back and forth, sh*tty no contact. Nobody can throw a f*cking punch. Because I know Kenny’s never been in a real fight except the one he got bitten in. But one would think Ostrich being a punk from the UK would have been in a few dust ups.
Anyway, here’s the thing, everybody raves about how ‘Oh, is this going to be whether it’s Kenny and Okada, or Kenny and Will or this guy and that guy. It’s going to be seven stars, it’s going to be a classic, it’s going to be the greatest match of the year.’ And so when I look at these two or any match that’s presented with that expectation, I say okay, how does this compare to Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat?
Because as we all know, that is still pretty much the pinnacle of athletic competition in pro-wrestling where it was believable enough to be a contest, but exciting enough to be pro-wrestling. It didn’t go too far, it was just the porridge that was just right. Everything else is based on that. Any further and it was fake, it was sports entertainment, backup any and it was fucking to dry. But in competition, in psychology, in the game of physical chess, as Gordon Solie would say, as something you could get lost in. Whether it was 58 minutes in the Superdome or whether it was the f*cking half an hour in Chicago or wherever, whatever, Nashville, whatever the f*ck. You could get lost in that sh*t and you could buy it, and the intricacies, and the little things, and the basics.
This is an exhibition, a video game moves by highly athletic performers, with absolutely no basics and no psychology and all of their little sh*t looks phoney. The simple sh*t is phoney the complicated sh*t, the triple flips and lindies and landing on their feet and whatever though they do that fine. Because that’s all they practise, because that’s all they worry about. Because that’s the superficial f*cking view they have of wrestling.
But when it tried to throw a punch or they try to grab somebody, it’s the f*cking exhibition of the same. And there was no MJF in this to keep something this f*cking long interesting to have it mean something from one minute to the next. It was a series of me moves and cool things they thought of to do, strung together.
Fans Might Have To Wait For Kenny Omega Vs. Will Ospreay III
Following Will Ospreay’s win, fans were quick to notice that the score between the British star and Kenny Omega now stands at 1-1. Naturally, this has led to calls for a third match between the two, potentially at All In at Wembley Stadium in August.
Despite this, Ospreay has suggested he’s content to walk away from Omega for the time being to chase other challenges.
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