AEW's Kenny Omega Thought He Would Have To Retire In 2015

During his time with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Kenny Omega won multiple championships and many believed he was one of, if not the best wrestler in the world. The Best Bout Machine has since moved on to All Elite Wrestling and has continued to cement his legacy in professional wrestling.

It all could have been very different for Omega, though. The Cleaner revealed during an interview with Fightful that he thought he would have to retire in 2015 following a neck injury.

Omega said: "I remember right before we did the AJ Styles turn. But earlier on in the year before, I had a very terrible herniation in my neck. It was the first time I ever had asked for time off in professional wrestling. I lost all power on the right side of my body and I thought that that was it. I thought that I was going to have to wrap it up and maybe I was already sort of winding down. I was able luckily enough to turn it around.

"I think one of the greatest things I can ever ask for is being able to decide what time that is. It'd be great if I could, but unfortunately, as wrestlers, and doing what we do, we sometimes don't have the ability to choose. In a heartbeat, these things can just fade and or they can be taken away from you. So all I'm trying to do is just kind of dip my fingers and toes as much as I as long as I can. I'm making sure that all these things that that I do take on as responsibilities are things that I enjoy outside of wrestling so that, you know, there's never a dull moment."