There has been no shortage of speculation about Kenny Omega’s future, feuled by his own remarks in recent interviews. And since all this comes in the weeks leading up to the Royal Rumble, that has led to rumors that Omega will sign with the WWE ahead of that event to make a surprise appearance in the Royal Rumble match.
Those rumors have been squashed to a degree based on information about his alleged contract status, but then the WWE itself got in on the fun. In a video released on the company’s website and app earlier this week, various superstars were asked who they’d like to see as a surprise entrant in the Rumble. Names like the Boogeyman came up, but Seth Rollins made sure to say Omega’s name.
Now, it’s certainly understandable that Rollins would say that. First, who wouildn’t want to see Kenny Omega walk out on the stage next week to join the fray in San Antonio? Second, it’s an obvious answer you’d give in that situation considering the aforementioned speculation. But the WWE video staff choosing to leave that answer in the final video was a mistake, and there are several reasons why.
NOTE: The WWE apparently took down the video and edited Rollins’ comments out of it, so perhaps someone saw the error of their ways. But there’s also a chance that just fuels the fire.
Ruins the surprise
Let’s just get this one out of the way and, for argument’s sake, assume that Kenny Omega is actually going to be signed with the WWE by the Royal Rumble and appear in that match. This would be almost identical to the way AJ Styles entered the WWE a year ago.
Wouldn’t it have been better for there to be no official recognition of Kenny Omega’s path to the company? Fans would have lost their minds if the WWE had pretended Kenny Omega didn’t exist until his music hit and “The Cleaner” strolled out to take his place in one of the company’s top events. That opportunity is lost now over a brief clip in an online video.
Fans could be disappointed
For the rest of the way, let’s assume Kenny Omega isn’t going to appear at the Royal Rumble.
The WWE crowd has grown increasingly fickle in recent years, and they seem to really take what’s written online to heart when it comes to WWE booking. If CM Punk is rumored to be seen near an arena, the speculation grows that he’s going to appear, and similar things happen throughout the year.
So for the WWE to tease that perhaps the biggest star outside its own roster is about to join the ranks and could even appear at a pay-per-view this month is extremely careless. Fans might come into the show expecting to see Omega and get highly disappointed when that doesn’t happen, no matter what show the talent that’s there is putting on.
Could ruin the Rumble – again
For three straight years, the Royal Rumble has had a disappointing finish in one way or another, and the WWE can’t let that happen this year. If the fans do get aggravated over Omega not being part of the 30-man battle royale, the eventual winner might not be received well long-term.
Take 2015, for example. In 2014, Roman Reigns was wildly popular as he battled Batista, only to come up short in an unpopular booking decision. A year later, Reigns is the presumed favorite to win, while the fans prefer Daniel Bryan. On top of Reigns winning, Bryan had a pretty meaningless run in the match, and the crowd completely turned on the event. Teasing an Omega appearance that doesn’t happen could have the same results in 2017 if the WWE isn’t careful.
It isn’t good business
What’s most confusing is that teasing an Omega debut without delivering isn’t even good business considering the WWE’s business model when it comes to pay-per-view events.
To really grasp this, you have to think about the type of people who will be excited about Kenny Omega in the first place: wrestling fans. The casual television viewer who has no ties to pro wrestling isn’t likely to even know who Kenny Omega is they way they would a Hulk Hogan or The Rock.
Further, the only way WWE would benefit in a business sense from Omega and the Rumble would be to draw in new WWE Network viewers for at least two months, since the first month is free for all new users. And the viewers that you’d add with a move like that are pro wrestling fans who don’t currently watch WWE, and they probably don’t watch for a reason. They are certainly aware of the company and its events, so they’ve chosen not to have the WWE Network.
By allowing Omega to be associated with the event in WWE content, they’ve planted the seed that he could be at the Rumble. So let’s say there are wrestling fans that decide to get a Network subscription to see if he debuts in San Antonio; are they going to pay for the next month when he doesn’t show up? That isn’t likely. What’s more likely is that these people will be even more turned off because they’ll feel like the WWE was using a favorite wrestler as a cheap marketing ploy.
So in the end, there was really no reason to jump the gun by talking about Kenny Omega. But now that it’s been done, we’ll have to wait and see what happens next.
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