Kenny Omega Doesn’t Want NJPW To Declare War On WWE
As NJPW is expanding into the United States, Kenny Omega believes that the Japanese promotion shouldn't try and get itself into a war with WWE for wrestling supremacy.
In a conference call promoting the G1 Special which will take place in Long Beach, California, Omega said he doesn't think that any company should try and compete directly with WWE due to their immense size and resources. Instead, Omega implores NJPW to make themselves as unique a product as possible in order to become a viable alternative for American wrestling fans to watch wrestling that isn't WWE.
“WWE is so far ahead of the game in terms of business. They’ve cornered a lot of the market and I think, and this is just my opinion, you never want to battle dollar for dollar against WWE. You never want to battle size and scope with WWE because you can’t. The resources you need for something like this is almost unfathomable. But what you want to do is you want to show an option, a very viable and entertaining option aside from WWE so that you’re not competing directly with them. What you’re doing is offering something completely different so that a WWE fan can also enjoy this other product or, if you’re just not happy with what WWE does, or you’re not even satisfied with that style of wrestling, there is something completely different for you to watch and possibly enjoy. That’s more important than just saying, ‘Okay, WWE is running this match so we’re going to do the equivalent with our guys and let’s see who does better.’ I think that’s sorta missing the point. I think what we have is very special. What we need to do is stick to our strengths and then show what makes New Japan so special in the American market rather than simply making a statement of war," Omega said.
Omega will be participating in the two-day event, competing in an eight-man tournament to crown the very first IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. The G1 Special takes place on July 1 and 2.
The conference call can be seen in the video above. Fightful will have live coverage of both days of the G1 Special.
