Contrary to what was teased in 2024, Kenny Omega will not be teaming with or facing off against one of his greatest rivals anytime soon.
In late 2023, Omega was hospitalised with diverticulitis and missed all of 2024 due to the illness. With years of wear and tear on Omega’s body due to his fast-paced in-ring style and with reports stating that the diverticulitis could have been fatal, there were concerns that the former AEW World Champion’s career had come to an anticlimactic end.
Thankfully, Omega was able to make a full recovery and returned to form in January 2025 with a victory over Gabe Kidd at the first-ever Wrestle Dynasty show. However, prior to the return it appeared that another match was being set up.
Videos from NJPW saw Omega meeting up with the promotion’s President Hiroshi Tanahashi, where the former IWGP World Champions spoke about their previous battles. Additionally, Omega brought up his issues with The Young Bucks, leading to speculation that a tag team match could be set for an upcoming show. However, with The Bucks instead going after the IWGP Tag Team Championships, the match never took place and all references to the match were dropped.
Kenny Omega And Hiroshi Tanahashi Alliance Not Planned
As reported by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, the reason why the match never took place was that it was never planned in the first place. It was noted in the report that “creative had not been broached within AEW” before their meeting took place and sources within New Japan “claimed that there was never a real plan” to have Omega and Tanahashi team up or face each other. In regard to the videos teasing a future match, these were said to be “just happened to be edited in a way that would hype things up.”