After two months away from AEW, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks made their return at Full Gear on November 19th. The trio entered to a huge ovation from the crowd as they made their way to the ring to face Death Triangle for the Trios Championships they never lost.
However, things didn’t go according to plan for the group as the hard-fought match came to a crashing end when Rey Fenix prevented Omega from dropping him with the One Winged Angel by hitting him with a hammer. The star then rolled him up to score the upset win and retain the titles.
This wasn’t to be the end of the night for Kenny Omega though, as he had another challenge to make.
Kenny Omega makes NJPW return for blockbuster match
Hours after Full Gear, the NJPW x STARDOM Historic X-Over semi-main event saw Jon Moxley’s young protege, Shota Umino, attempting to win gold in his first match since returning to Japan from his excursion in the UK.
The young star faced off against Will Ospreay with the IWGP United States Championship on the line in a fast-paced match that saw the Roughneck making his mark on the company in his return to action.
Despite everything Ospreay threw at him, including brutal elbows to the back of his head, Umino kept coming back for more. However, in the end, he couldn’t overcome the Hidden Blade and Stormbreaker, and Ospreay retained the US title for the fourth time.
As Ospreay celebrated in the ring following the bout, the lights went out and Kenny Omega appeared on the video screen, marking his first appearance in NJPW since leaving for AEW almost four years ago.
Sitting on a throne, the Best Bout Machine ran down NJPW, claiming his “replacement”, Will Ospreay, was the cause of smaller and quieter crowds rather than the pandemic. He then proclaimed he would save the promotion and change the world by challenging Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom 17!
For his part, Ospreay showed no hesitation in accepting the match, which will take place in the Tokyo Dome on January 4th, 2023.