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Kenny Omega is back on top in AEW and is currently riding high as the promotion's International Champion. However, he recently shared some concerns about the future of wrestling, especially where celebrities and internet personalities like Logan Paul are concerned.
The Best Bout Machine spent years honing his craft in Canada and Japan before making it to national television with AEW. By then, he was already considered by many to be one of the greatest in-ring artists of all time.
On the other side of the promotional divide, Logan Paul is gearing up to challenge Jey Uso for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Saturday Night's Main Event later this month. It will be the YouTuber's third shot at a World Title, despite the fact that he's only competed in 19 matches in his entire career.
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Speaking with Adi Shankar, Kenny Omega pointed out that wrestling has become more accessible to outsiders as opposed to past eras when it was more exclusive:
"It’s remarkably easier nowadays. It’s easier ’cause like a guy like Logan Paul would have been beaten up in like ’92. They would have beaten him up in the locker room, like, ‘What are you doing here?’ You know what I mean? It was a closed ecosystem back then."
The Best Bout Machine also expressed concern for the future of the wrestling industry, predicting that WrestleMania would someday feature a main event with Logan Paul and YouTube phenom MrBeast.
"I don’t know if I’ve ever said this publicly or not, but I think we’re headed down a path where, a couple WrestleManias from now, the main event’s going to be Logan Paul versus MrBeast. And it’s like, what’s the wrestling acumen? How many miles have they actually put into this? You know? But does it even matter anymore?" said Kenny Omega. [H/T: Ringside News]
Kenny Omega had doubts about Logan Paul's in-ring ability
While WWE has lightened its talents' workloads in recent years, the company was known for its exhausting schedule in previous eras. Kenny Omega never experienced the weekly house show circuit, but he endured his own trials on the independent scene, in DDT, and in NJPW's brutal G1 tournaments.
Kenny pointed to the G1 when a fan brought up Logan Paul on Omega's Twitch stream last year. While he admitted that the YouTuber might be athletically gifted, he doubted Paul would last long when asked to perform in New Japan's famous tournament, which is known to be one of the most physically demanding tours in the business:
"I'm glad you think so, and I'm glad he's able to convince you such a thing. However, could Logan Paul walk into New Japan and do a G1 where he'd have to walk in every night and have an actual banger? No. He absolutely could not. Is he gonna get there between now and... I mean, it depends on his commitment level, and not only that, but does it matter? No. He's clearly setting his roots down in WWE," said Kenny Omega.
Logan Paul has been adamant about his commitment to WWE, although some fans still criticize his part-time status. Whether the 30-year-old will claim his first World title at Saturday Night's Main Event remains to be seen.
