Chris Jericho Says New Japan Pro Wrestling Is 'Breathing Down The Neck Of The WWE'
Kenny Omega recently completed his years-long quest to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Title and dethrone Kazuchika Okada in the process. Omega's monumental achievement at the Dominion show not only caused Dave Meltzer to create another star to give their two-out-of-three falls encounter a seven-star rating but it also marked the second Winnipegger to capture a title that night.
Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega share the hometown of Winnipeg and with Y2J's IWGP Intercontinental Title win at Dominion, he gave their Canadian hometown something major to be proud of. Now both top singles titles in New Japan Pro Wrestling belong to Winnipeg natives.
"For Chris and myself to win (NJPW's) No. 1 and No. 2 belts, belts that are generally perceived by fans, critics and wrestlers themselves as the most prestigious titles in wrestling, it isn't something that happens every day. And the fact that two foreigners, who are not only Canadian, but both from Winnipeg, is wow, just an incredible occasion," Omega told the Winnipeg Free Press.
Omega's epic sixty-five-minute battle with Okada might have capped off the night at Dominion with some marvelous storytelling but Chris Jericho's brutal victory over Tetsuya Naito was a totally different kind of match. However, both Omega and Jericho see eye-to-eye on the fact that there are some very big things in New Japan's future as the company continues to solidify their reputation and stretch their reach.
Even though Y2J stated he won't work for New Japan in the United States out of respect for Vince McMahon, Jericho also discussed New Japan's growing influence as a company "that's slowly but surely increasing its worldwide popularity and basically breathing down the neck of the WWE. It's a Japanese wrestling company, the top stars are Japanese, but there we were, two foreigners, headlining and main eventing the Tokyo Dome. It would be like two Japanese football teams in the Super Bowl. The fact it's two guys from Winnipeg is a really huge deal."
Source: Winnipeg Free Press