Two big names in the wrestling world with roots in Winnipeg are heading overseas to headline a major event in Japan.
Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega, both of whom grew up in Winnipeg, will be on the marquee of Wrestle Kingdom 12 at the Tokyo Dome Jan. 4, an event put on by New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Jericho is not under contract with WWE, which means there’s nothing stopping him from going overseas to fight Omega, currently the big draw in Japan.
“It’s a match that, in the wrestling world, is very similar to McGregor-Mayweather in that it’s a dream match that nobody ever thought would happen because of the two competitors working where they work,” Jericho said. “It’s this one window of time where it could happen, and as a result it’s the most talked-about match in the world today.”
The Tokyo Dome is a big building to fill, with 55,000 seats available. But Jericho said that with the big name recognition of this match, advance ticket sales have been double what they were for last year’s event.
“It’s the biggest match you could have in wrestling at this given time. You’ve got two of the best from two different companies from the same hometown,” Jericho gushed. “Winnipeg is not a big town, the fact that you have two of us headlining the Tokyo Dome, and a match that was suggested by Don Callis, also from Winnipeg, there’s all these factors that combined, to me it was destined to happen. It was fate.”
If you want to put an extreme Winnipeg-centric microscope on the match, Jericho grew up in Westwood while Omega was raised in Transcona, so is there any longtime beef between those neighbourhoods?
“I mean that’s a typical Saturday night when I was growing up. We’ll meet you at McDonald’s and see who’s tougher” Jericho joked. “I’m really proud of the fact that I grew up in Winnipeg, and so is Kenny. I take great pride in the fact that I’m one of the few people in history that have headlined WrestleMania and the Tokyo Dome, and here I am doing it with another guy from Transcona. It’s just a pretty cool moment.”
If you want to watch next week’s event, you can do so on New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s website.
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