Photo: Jason Hall
Kenny Omega has officially returned to All Elite Wrestling.
The former AEW World Heavyweight champion revealed himself to be the mystery partner of the Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) in their match in their AEW World Trios Championship Tournament quarterfinal match against Andrade El Idolo, Rush and Dragon Lee during Wednesday's (August 17) live broadcast of Dynamite in Charleston, West Virginia.
Omega had been out of action since losing the AEW World Championship to former tag-team partner 'Hangman' Adam Page -- who later lost the title to CM Punk -- at the Full Gear pay-per-view event in November 2021.
Shortly after, Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer reported that Omega was scheduled to undergo "surgeries on his shoulder, knee and abdomen and is evaluating a septum surgery as well."
The report also specified that Omega wrestled through "a torn labrum and an abdominal hernia for months."
“So far, five procedures have taken place to attempt to make me a better, healthier athlete,” Omega said. “These are injuries that have compiled over years. They’re ones I can’t neglect, and I’ve needed this time to start to heal. That’s what I’ve been doing during this time off—I’m trying to buy time back onto my wrestling clock. I would like to have a longer career, so I’ve looked at this time after losing the belt as an opportunity to start to fix what’s hurting me."
Omega was one of New Japan Pro Wrestling's brightest stars and a major factor in the brand's popularity in North America, having served as the brand's IWGP Heavyweight Champion for 209 days.
Omega was instrumental in AEW's launch in 2019 and is the company's longest-reigning World Champion with a 346-day run from December 2020 to November 2021.