2023 in pro wrestling will be revealed as the year we saw Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega finally wrestling.
The two stars were two of the top gaijin in Japan, making names for themselves as two of the top stars in NJPW.
The Englishman Ospreay stepped in to fill the shoes of Kenny Omega, once the Canadian left the promotion to form AEW.
They kept in touch on social media, dropping challenges to one another that were never answered – until now.
Battling twice, once in AEW and once in NJPW, their matches were two of the greatest wrestling matches ever seen.
Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay will go down as an all-time great feud, and is something that will likely never be bettered.
With rumors that Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay could happen again at AEW All In, keep checking up on this page for information about a potential clash at Wembley Stadium.
Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay
In this post, we’ll go through every singles match between Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay.
Each Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay match will be rated according to the quality of the match, and ranked accordingly.
We will use ratings from the Wrestling Observer, as well as Cagematch and our own rating, to decide which is the best match from the pair’s incredible bouts.
If you disagree with our rankings, let us know in the comments section below after finishing this page.
2. AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 (6 Star Rating)
Nobody thought the rematch between Will Osprey and Kenny Omega could live up to the first match.
While it did not surpass it (more on that later), it stands as a “1a” match as one of the best matches in the history of wrestling.
Will Ospreay avenged his loss at the Tokyo Dome earlier this year with one of the greatest performances wrestling has ever seen.
He and Omega had an innate chemistry that you cannot team. Every move was crisp, perfectly executed and fit exactly in the story where it needed to be.
TIGER DRIVER ’91!!! #AEWxNJPW #ForbiddenDoor https://t.co/hBJXT0imWt pic.twitter.com/DBCSASTXdV— SirLARIATO (@SirLARIATO) June 26, 2023
Despite interference from Don Callis, the match was perfect. The interference even helped the match, even if the referee did not do his job correctly .
There will be no match that will come close to this bout – until the proposed rematch at All In at Wembley Stadium. Until then, Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega at Forbidden Door is, to me, the greatest AEW match of all time.
- Dave Meltzer Star Rating – 6 Stars
- Cagematch Rating – 9.58
- Atletifo Rating – 6 Stars
1. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 (6.25 Star Rating)
The first Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega match will go down as one of the greatest matches of all time, and the best of their series (so far?).
After years of back and forth online, the two stars finally faced off in a singles match on the big stage, as the biggest match on NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 17.
This was Omega’s first match back in NJPW since leaving the company in 2019. Alongside The Young Bucks and Cody Rhodes, he left the company to form his own promotion – All Elite Wrestling.
Kenny Omega made his grand return after 4 years away from the NJWP ring when he took on United States Champion Will Ospreay in a dream match that was hyped more than any match before it.
Somehow, it lived up to the hype and more. It flew by at 35 minutes but felt like a 10-minute classic. This is a testament to both men’s incredible wrestling ability, managing to keep the fans enthralled for the entirety of this modern classic.
After an incredible performance from both and some of the best selling ever seen in wrestling by Will Ospreay, he fell to a Kamigoye (Omega’s tribute to his partner Kota Ibushi) and a One Winged Angel to earn the Canadian his second IWGP United States Championship and end one of the greatest matches in Wrestle Kingdom history.
- Dave Meltzer Star Rating – 6.25 Stars
- Cagematch Rating – 9.77
- Atletifo Rating – 6 Stars