Everything We Know About Kenny Omega's Hockey Career

Before Kenny Omega became "The Cleaner" of professional wrestling, he was a hockey goalie. Growing up in the Winnipeg suburb of Transcona, Omega -– whose real name is Tyson Smith -–grew an affinity and talent for the winter sport, so naturally, Omega dreamed of making his living on the ice.

Mainly serving as a goaltender for his Winnipeg club hockey team, the St. Boniface Seals, Omega excelled in the sport as a young teenager. When he was 16, he received a call-up to the junior league. Through his impressive work, Omega received a scholarship to Bemidji State University, a small public university located in Minnesota. Known as the BSU Beavers, the school has in the past produced future NHLers, most notably Columbus Blue Jackets center Andrew Murray.

At the same time, Omega began watching one of his friends train at Top Rope Wrestling in Winnipeg. Eventually, Omega would trade in his skates for a pair of wrestling boots.

"I watched his first matches, sat in on some training," Smith once told the Winnipeg Free Press. "I knew, when I was 16, I just wanted to train and get in the ring as soon as possible. That was the beginning of the destruction of my hockey career." In the months following, Omega joined his friend in training at TRCW, learning under Canadian veteran Bobby Jay. 

A young Omega would subsequently make his professional wrestling debut in 2000, before soaring through the independent scene. In 2005, he received a tryout from WWE and signed a deal that would send him to their developmental grounds of Deep South Wrestling.

Less than a year later, Omega would leave WWE and go on to travel the world, notably in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. In 2019, the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion participated in the startup of All Elite Wrestling, eventually winning the AEW World Championship in December 2020.