Kenny Omega responds to the criticism he has received since joining AEW

Currently in preparation for his defense of the AEW Tag Team Championship alongside Hangman Page, Kenny Omega spoke with The Sporting News and opened up on the criticism that he has received since joining AEW.

Despite having main-evented a handful amount of AEW PPVs, many fans believe that Omega has under-performed in the promotion and hasn't lived up to the hype that he had created during his days at New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Omega opens up on criticism regarding his AEW performances

While speaking to Sporting News, Omega responded to the recent criticism that he received for underperforming in AEW. The reigning AEW Tag Team Champion said: (H/T: Wrestling Inc)

"[Laughs] It's funny because I feel like when people … I could compare it to when your favorite player perhaps gets traded to another team. When your favorite player gets traded to another team, and he's initially not the top scorer or leading in assists or playing the way that he used to play like he did for the home team, your team, it's easy to criticize them and say that you made a big mistake, and that you'll never be the same guy again and that it's all downhill."

Omega added that just because he has transitioned from having 45-minute long matches in NJPW doesn't mean that he isn't the same guy that he once was in Japan.

"Because I decided to take a different path in my career, because I'm not doing these long, drawn-out 45 [minute] to one-hour matches in singles competition, it doesn't mean that I'm not the same guy. This isn't about tooting my own horn, but it's like I'm now helping run a company that has live television every Wednesday."

What's next for Omega?

Omega will put his AEW Tag Team Championship on the line alongside Page, as the duo get ready to face fellow Elite stablemates The Young Bucks at this weekend's AEW Revolution.