Kenny Omega Vacates AAA Mega Championship Due to Injury

The AEW star had been looking forward to meeting rising lucha libre star El Hijo del Vikingo in a match for Mexican promotion AAA.

Due to a number of injuries sustained or amplified over the past year, Kenny Omega is not working the upcoming Triplemanía Regia II show on Dec. 4 for AAA.

The news was confirmed by Konnan, AAA’s head of creative, who also stated that Omega has vacated the mega championship. AAA is currently in discussions with AEW for a replacement for Triplemanía Regia.

“Kenny has been an incredible champion,” Konnan says. “He will be first in line for the title when he gets back.”

Omega had been scheduled to defend the Mega championship against El Hijo del Vikingo. Perhaps the single most talented luchador in the world, Vikingo is on the precipice of major stardom. A singles bout against Omega would have showcased Vikingo’s rare combination of strength and agility, as there is simply no one in the entire industry with a skill set quite as extraordinary.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated that took place before AEW’s Full Gear pay-per-view earlier this month, Omega shared his excitement to work with Vikingo.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime talent,” Omega says. “He brings something to the table that is completely different from everyone else. Once I started to do AAA and first saw Vikingo wrestle in person, I couldn’t help but think about the first time I saw [Kota] Ibushi and [Will] Ospreay.”

Omega had held AAA’s mega championship since October 2019. He defeated Fénix to win the title and successfully defended the belt on five different occasions with victories against Dragon Lee, Laredo Kid, Jack Evans, Sammy Guevara and Andrade.

“I was able to wrestle Fénix in AAA, and I was able to wrestle Dragon Lee,” says Omega, who has become the longest-reigning mega champion in the 14-year history of the title. “Being able to do the match with Andrade was great, and that was a night when we barely made it to the arena on time.

“I was also so thankful to wrestle Laredo Kid in a singles capacity. As much as you can reinvent the wheel in a six-man tag, I wanted to give him that platform to show what he can do as a singles performer. That’s a match I’m really proud of, and it’s my favorite defense of that belt.”

Before the injuries, Omega’s match with Vikingo had come together as the result of a discussion with Konnan.

“Konnan is incredibly smart and a great guy to work with,” Omega says. “I remember watching Vikingo and saying, ‘This is your guy. You can build a company around him. This could be your Rey Mysterio Jr., and I’d love to see if I could do something cool with him.’ And Konnan said we’d make it happen.”

Konnan remains confident that the Omega-Vikingo match will take place at a later date.

“Yes, it will,” Konnan says. “Guaranteed.”

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Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.