When you write a sequel, you aim alter what is expected of it. It should not attempt to be better or worse, it should not opt for any comparison. It should stray away from it, yet call to it in respect and advancement of the story.
The sophomore meeting of Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay for the IWPG United States Heavyweight Championship at 2023’s Forbidden Door had lofty expectations to meet, and it sure sounds like it has, based on the reactions of online fans watching live or in the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada when it happened.
AEW’s top star vs NJPW’s young star who has since come into his own was a tale long in the making, ever since Kenny Omega lifted the perception of the Japanese promotion’s perspective of Western stars, and the shoes he left in the cerulean blue in 2019 had yet to be met, yet one man has stepped up to fill them as best as he can, and that man is Will Ospreay.
Unfortunately, Kenny Omega did not believe it, and at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 17 Night 1 on January 4, 2023, he met the British blonde in the ring to test him and “save the company” from him. It was a hard-fought, brutal, carnivorous match. Neither man gave single quarter, blood was spilled in recompense.
At this point in their careers, both Ospreay and Omega are broken and torn. You would not notice it, you would not know it. These are talents that exist on a higher level of performance that they can put on a match of high quality in the world of this performance art. And they can’t do this forever – matches like the one we are discussing today are exactly why. No human should put themselves through this, but they would. They would put themselves through unethical, inhumane, and destructive means for their art, for their story, for their gold.
Ospreay entered the ring not in his usual United Empire theme, “Bring it Down”, opting instead once again for “Elevated”, as he did on January 4th. It was as though to say that he had not forgotten, he would not be unknown. He fought Lance Archer to be here again, and demands of himself to not fail. In his actions, he stated he is the word that must be spoken. If he was to be unsuccessful in his word, then he never truly spoke.
Flanking the United Empire leader was recent Benedict Arnold, Don Callis, alongside two men clad in dark; they were bald, like Ninja Turtle FBI agents.
Kenny Omega phases out into the arena with the belt across his waist as “Devil’s Sky” serenades him to the ring, a familiar friend from a long-lost time. The hometown hero is warmly welcomed and the festivities were to be merry before the scheduled chaos was to commence.
There’s a strange juxtaposition in the alignments of both men. Whereas Kenny Omega was on the antagonistic side in the first meeting, Ospreay is the foreign heel. And this has an entirely different feel as a result. The first match has Will feeling like he’s defending the honor of NJPW against the man who turned his back on it, and this time it feels as though he’s an invader in a place not meant for him.
From the starting bell, the energy is off the wall. The crowd loves it and chants “Holy shit!” before they even lock up, but when htey finally do, the action has no surcease. The fans even cheer for Ospreay to the tune of “Olé!” chants before chanting for Kenny and expressing their disdain for Don Callis.
The two feel one another out, judging how this match is going to turn out and salivating over the carnage that was to come. That is, until Kenny Omega sets up for a Terminator Dive, only for Don Callis to sneakily try to trip Omega up. With the champ seeking to make his former father figure pay for this transgression, he is blocked; the referee Paul Turner ejected him from the arena, having seen the immoral interruption.
With the ejection of the Invisible Hand, the match picks up. The rigors of both men’s careers becomes evident with Omega holding his back. Ospreay’s targeting of this further saw a ruthlessness in him, a malice born of hate. Omega’s no weakling, he fires back with due intensity.
The steel that tampered these men, the Japanese style, it is on full display with the chops and slaps and kicks expected of them. The stuff that leaves a human body bruised in a pain that feels so good that you can’t give it up.
An Oscutter by Ospreay signals the part where this match is entering unforgiving territory; he drags Kenny’s weak body and threatens to slam him through the announce table. He does it wtih the force intended to send Omega through it. Intended, but not complete. It’s too hard, and it leaves a painful thud and that’s still not enough. It won’t be enough until Will is holding the gold again.
Soaking in the “You’re a wanker!” chants, the Brit shoves Omega’s head through the table cover one last time. Blood has been repaid in blood. Ospreay taunts and plays with his food like a cat to a mouse, and tauntingly licks his bicep, lapping the stain of Omega’s blood from it.
Stealing his opponent’s V-Trigger, Ospreay fells Omega to the mat once more, as The Cleaner’s vision is heavily obstructed in the red of his own plasma.
Taking a page from Shawn Michaels’s playbook, Ospreay desecrates the Canadian flag. Such disrespect to homeland gave cause for Omega to lariat and strangle and hang the cheeky bastard. Toronto sends its warmest regards.
I can’t help but smile as Omega hands the tarnished, yet reclaimed flag to a child who earlier chastised Will for his shenanigans.
The contempt and disregard that Omega holds for Ospreay is maintained as he reopens an old wound of Ospreay, slamming and slamming the former champ’s head until it pours and drips frim his head; it has already painted the steel steps, as a drop cascades down the side whilst Kenny DDT’s the younger wrestler. A pond of blood still trickles, its owner vaulted back into the ring, and these wounded beasts who are likely to be in the twilight of their careers at any moment are told by the crowd to fight forever.
As if to spit further in the face of an entire country, the reddened Ospreay puts Omega in the Sharpshooter, followed by a crossface, moves important in Canadian wrestling culture for different reasons.
Kenny Omega is weakened; down but not out. The throes of pain keep him in its web, and the bloodthirst in the British wrestler is not quenched.
Calling upon the majesty of Toshiaki Kawada and the chops of Kenta Kobashi, Will tortures and abuses, and he lets it cloud his vision as much as the haze of his own blood taints his eyes.
Justin Roberts, the announcer, mentions that thirty minutes have passed, and thirty remain. This was the point at which I thought it would reach a time-limit draw. When I come back to my senses, I see that Ospreay has hit a successful Sky-Twister Press on Omega to a loud shock from the crowd. I could feel the wind off that one!
Another Hidden Blade is attempted, it is evaded in quick fashion. After a Liger Bomb and pin attempt, Omega escapes, only to be met with an Oscutter that nearly ends him. Reversing a Stormbreaker, Omega drops Ospreay on his head, the momentum is stilled with the return of Don Callis, but Omega pulls in his prey only to be met with a screwdriver, placed into his skull. He’s fucking tired of having screwdrivers planted in him.
Ospreay unleashes another hidden Blade and a Stormbreaker, and gets a near-fall; Omega breaks the pin at the last-second by placing his boot on the bottom rope.
As if the wounds weren’t gaping and bloody enough, Ospreay delivers a Kamigoye and a One-Winged Angel to Omega for a pin broken out at one, to the tune of an uproarious crowd. One way to rile Kenny up and unleash a lion is to use the finisher of his or someone he loves, and you better pray you can handle that which comes after.
The pair unleash last-ditch efforts to turn the tide in their favor, and Ospreay nearly, nearly gets it with a nasty Tiger Driver ‘91 that lands so nastily, that elicits a gasp from the crowd and makes me uncomfortable, clutching my own neck. With a Stormbreaker, Ospreay gets the win, and smiles a bloody pile of flesh and bone; he is champion once more. He truly is elevated at defeating someone who is one of the best in the world.
This was an incredible match, and I love it dearly already. Personally, I’d add it to my own Matches of the Year category, with their first meeting, Anarchy in the Arena II, and Gunther vs Sheamus vs Drew McIntyre, but I had quite an experience in understanding my feelings on this.
At first, I was conflicted. I wondered why we were getting this heelish Will Ospreay, when the first one had him showing fighting spirit, but this is a different story told from a different narrative. When a storyteller continues that of another storyteller, things will differ but the message will continue. That story your grandpa told you in childhood continued by your co-worker in adulthood will be told in a different way.
For this, the story got its point across, I feel. NJPW’s version featured a quiet and measured audience that popped for the big moments, but was told methodically. AEW’s variation has a red-hot crowd and delivered the narrative on emotion. Honestly, if I have any problem, it’s the same everyone else has: the Don Callis interference. Regardless, this was a Will Ospreay, a train with the wheels falling off, demanding himself to continue even as the sparks are beginning to ingulf him in flame.
In a year where Canada’s two hometown heroes from two different companies had huge matches in the northern country, only to face heartbreak, the soul was there with hot stories and amazing action. And this time, it was from someone who had something taken from him earlier this year.
Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay, once known for high flying and unreal maneuvers, now work a slower pace that packs so much of a punch that tells a tale of two men who have grown as people and performers. Every single move matters.
They held back the first time, and if they held back enough this time, I shudder to think of what they’d put each other through a third time. I’d love it for sure, but I’d still be nervous.
They’ve left us with enough memories, a letter from Toronto, in blood.
