Wrestler Cosplays as Sephiroth at Japan’s Biggest Wrestling Competition, Comes Out to One Winged Angel
Kenny Omega may be debated as one of professional wrestling’s greatest talents, but he’s undoubtedly one of the sport’s most dedicated gamers, proving it with a recent tribute to Final Fantasy 7’s Sephiroth at Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom.
At this year’s event, which is the largest in the huge professional wrestling market of Japan, the Canadian former AEW World Champion attended to face England’s Will Ospreay for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.
Omega entered the bout wearing a costume reminiscent of Sephiroth and made his way to the ring while the iconic One Winged Angel theme played in the background.
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⇒https://t.co/z1DNREh66D#njpw #wk17 pic.twitter.com/rJTatJHiiS— njpwworld (@njpwworld) January 4, 2023
Kenny Omega, real name Tyson Smith, drew his ring name from Final Fantasy’s Omega Weapon and has used a finishing move called the One Winged Angel for a sizable portion of his lengthy career, meaning this cosplay isn’t without context.
Smith has used other components of video games as part of his repertoire such as Street Fighter, taunting opponents with Alex’s signature “You can’t escape!” and delivering a move called the V Trigger knee strike.
Professional Wrestling has been popular in Japan since at least the 1950s and a wrestling show has taken place every January 4 at the Tokyo Dome since 1992. Omega hasn’t appeared at a Wrestle Kingdom since 2019, where he was defeated by Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event and would soon after make his move to All Elite Wrestling in America.
In this previous appearance he entered the ring to Hopes and Dreams from the Undertale soundtrack, with a costume inspired in part by Deltarune’s main character.
Kenny Omega has been rated the number one wrestler in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Top 500 performers twice in his career.
If you’re interested in seeing his latest Final Fantasy themed performance in full, New Japan’s subscription service NJPW World is available for a monthly fee of ¥999 (around $7.50).
Mat Jones is IGN’s UK Social Coordinator, and will turn back into a pumpkin at midnight.
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