Kenny Omega on Wanting Wrestling Companies To “Play Nice With Each Other” After TNA Pulling Their Talents From Indies Matches with AEW Talents

As noted before, TNA Wrestling recently changed their policy no longer allowing contracted TNA talents to work on the same indies shows as AEW talents, specifically in regards to matches involving TNA talents competing against contracted AEW talents. TNA had released an official statement stating they had pulled their talents due to “partner conflicts.” Several matches were revealed and confirmed to have been pulled by TNA President Carlos Silva due to this new policy.

Sports Illustrated’s The Takedown on SI held a recent interview with AEW EVP and talent Kenny Omega. One of the topics discussed included Omega’s thoughts about TNA pulling their talents from matches involving AEW talents in the indies. Omega also gave his thoughts about wanting wrestling companies to “play nice with each other” since he feels that would help move the wrestling business more in a positive direction.

“If you’re in a bubble for too long and you failed to realize what exists outside your bubble, how small your bubble is… in this case, we’re talking about professional wrestling, I think you start to run into problems like this where someone will think that they’re better than somebody else, that there is no reason to work together, and they don’t see the upside.

They can only look at the negatives and the downsides. I still think that we’re in a place where professional wrestling can still be more than what it is. I do think that if there were situations where we could all play nice with each other, then I really do think that business as a whole would move in towards more of a positive direction, we’d see more of a positive trend.

I understand with the amount of money that’s at play, that’s a very sensitive subject and a very sensitive issue. If we get to a point where we’re starting to cross-promote or we’re having wrestlers wrestle against talent affiliated with WWE, for example, it becomes a sensitive topic as to how do we promote that? Who wins? Who loses?

I don’t say that, specifically as a who wins, who loses on paper, but I mean, who wins, who loses as a promotion? Who’s going to come out looking like the stronger promotion, who’s going to come out looking like they gained something from this scenario?”

Omega also gave his thoughts about if another opportunity comes up in the future he would have a talk with Tony Khan to make it happen.

“I do think that at the end of the day, if everyone were to really just sit down and figure out a way to make it happen, it’s more than doable. We’ve seen it in other sports, other forms of media. This isn’t just a thing that’s unique to professional wrestling. But maybe you could also make something really cool by having two forces that you never would see share a screen team up or face each other. I have always been maybe a little bit unrealistic in that realm of thought, but I’ve always been at least willing to always entertain that if there was ever an opportunity to do so. 

I really do think that with how passionately I do feel about working together with everybody and anybody, that I think Tony would hear me out and also entertain the idea as well. I think it’d be great for fans, and I think at the end of the day, too, it’s only a net-positive for all of professional wrestling.”