Wrestle Kingdom 12 has come and gone, and New Japan Pro Wrestling picked up some new fans along the way. This was largely due to interest in the Alpha Vs Omega dream match between Chris Jericho (Alpha) and Kenny Omega (Omega, obviously).
The build for this match was beautifully done with the rivalry starting on Twitter. I honestly thought they might have a match or interaction on Jericho’s cruise that he has planned for later this year. Like many others, I was proven wrong when a video aired of Jericho challenging Omega to a match. Jericho’s been quoted on several occasions as saying that he would only wrestle in WWE, so the moment this happened was very surreal.
I was proven wrong again when Jericho showed up in Japan to attack Omega after one of his matches. The attack left Omega a bloody mess and showed a different side to Jericho. They clashed again at a press conference, which saw Jericho toss a table at Omega. The match was announced to be a No-Disqualification match, which meant that this wasn’t going to be the usual Kenny Omega match. Omega’s matches can range from comedic to very serious athletic affairs. Rarely does he find himself in these No-DQ types of matches, and it’s been a very long time since New Japan had a match that could get this violent.
The No-DQ stipulation would seem to benefit Jericho since he was the older of the two and not quite as spry as he used to be. Before the match even started, the two had to be pulled apart so the bell could ring and the match would start. Most of the early portion of the match took place outside of the ring. Omega went for a dive onto Jericho when Jericho was laid out on the announce table. Jericho got out of the way at the last minute and Omega crashed. Jericho played the heel throughout the match with various tactics, like attacking the referee and the referee’s son, who is a “Young Lion” — basically a wrestler-in-training. Jericho even grabbed a camera and filmed himself flipping off the crowd.
All of the screencaps below are from NJPWWorld.Com.
Omega would get in a little bit of offense, but Jericho always seemed to have a counter. Eventually Jericho wedged a chair in one of the corners of the ring and proceeded to throw Omega face first into it. After three attempts, Omega was cut open.
The way Jericho wrestled the match seemed similar to how the Great Muta would try to injure or maim his opponents instead of getting a victory. Jericho wanted the win, but he wanted to inflict as much punishment as he could on Omega. Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho numerous times in the match, but Omega managed to get out of it each time. Jericho had set up a table outside of the ring earlier in the match, but would eventually get put through it himself after Omega did a jumping knee strike that would knock Jericho off the top rope and through the table. The end of the match saw Omega throw a chair at Jericho when he was going for a Lionsault. Omega then grabbed the dazed Jericho, moved the chair that he just threw at him, and hit the One-Winged Angel on the chair.
Did this dream match live up to the hype?
In my opinion it definitely did and I had a blast watching it. Omega and Jericho really did a great job of selling that they hated each other. Omega is generally great in his singles matches, but I was most impressed with Jericho. I’ve been a dyed in the wool Jerichoholic for years, but the energy he brought to this match did not feel like that of someone who is 47 years old. It felt like someone who was much younger and had a lot to prove.
Maybe it was the change of scenery, maybe it was how good of an opponent Omega was, but this newly reinvented version of Jericho is one I hope sticks around for a while.
The match wasn’t perfect though. There were a few moments that took me out of it.
Early on the referee started to count Jericho and Omega out when they were outside too long. No-DQ typically means anything goes as long as a pin takes place in the ring. They could’ve brawled outside for over half the match and there should’ve been no count.
There was also a spot where Omega broke out of the Walls of Jericho by using some cold spray that was under the ring. After blinding Jericho with it, he sprayed himself with it and also sprayed it down his pants. I’m all for comedy spots in matches, but it felt really out of place in this particular match. Finally, there was another bit of a botch in the officiating when near the end of the match, Omega used a rope break to get out of the Walls of Jericho, but earlier in the match Jericho refused to release the hold since it was No-DQ. I know these are general nitpicks, but they did take me out of the match briefly.
So where do Jericho and Omega go from here?
In the press conference after the event, Jericho said that he was done in Japan. This of course was a lie and the next night he would attack Tetsuya Naito, who is another top New Japan star coming off a loss from the night before. At the same event Omega would offer rising star Jay White a spot in the Bullet Club, but White declined by hitting his Blade Runner finisher on Omega.
Even though it seems like both men are going in separate directions, I would not be against seeing Alpha vs Omega 2 sometime in the future.
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