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Kenny Omega walked into The BayCare Sound in Clearwater, Florida, on Wednesday night knowing it could be the final time he could challenge for the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) World Championship.
It was the stipulation that Omega agreed to in order to face champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF). It’s a similar stipulation that “Hangman” Adam Page agreed to and lost to MJF earlier this year. Omega and MJF are two of the top stars in all of pro wrestling.
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Scenes from the tag-team match between Kenny Omega and Adam Page vs. Private Party during All Elite Wrestling Dynamite at Landers Center in Southaven, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. (Max Gersh / The Commercial Appeal)
The Clearwater crowd was seemingly behind Omega. MJF already ruffled the feathers of his potential challenger at All In, Will Ospreay, when he spat in his face in a segment backstage. The tensions were heightened and it marked for a terrific match between the two pro wrestlers.
And the referee let them fight. MJF and Omega brought their brawl into the stands at fight before taking it back into the ring. MJF used his dirty tactics to avoid Omega at first. He put the referee in his way of a V-trigger and then bit into Omega’s face.
“I’m moonwalking to Wembley Stadium whether you like it or not,” MJF told the camera during the match.
Omega tried to put some space in between himself and MJF. He walked up the ramp and was able to take some control of the match. He climbed up a lifeguard tower that was set up at the top of the ram and hit a moonsault on MJF. He got MJF back in the ring and hit a dropkick from the top rope to MJF’s back.
Kenny Omega looks on during Wrestle Kingdom 13 at Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Masashi Hara / Getty Images)
Omega looked as good as ever and it seemed he was going to take control with hopes of becoming the AEW world champion for the third time. MJF had other ideas, taking advantage of Omega’s blinding speed with a drop toehold. But it wasn’t enough to grind Omega’s momentum to a halt.
The two went back and forth as fans waited to see who was going to walk out of Clearwater with the belt.
As the match wore on, MJF attempted to drive Omega from the apron into the announce table with a tombstone. However, Omega got out of it and hit a V-trigger on MJF. The champ was sent flying from the apron and through the announce table.
By the time MJF got back up, the two men were clearly spent. They attempted to get their last licks in. MJF hit Omega with a tombstone piledriver on a chair but seemingly injured his knee with the move. Omega got MJF back in the ring and hit two more nasty V-triggers.
Somehow, MJF was able to counter a One-Winged Angel with a poisonrana. He hit him with a heatseeker but couldn’t get the pinfall.
AEW Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman appears during AEW Dynamite at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on Feb. 22, 2023. (Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports)
MJF lined up to hit Omega with the Dynamite Diamond Ring. But Will Ospreay came out to take the ring away. Omega was going to hit MJF with the AEW title belt but didn’t have the heart. MJF hit Omega with a low blow and the title. But Omega kicked out at a one count.
It was Omega’s turn to turn on the heat. He reached deep down inside of him to hit MJF with three more V-triggers and a One-Winged Angel.
Omega pinned MJF to win the AEW World Championship.
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The crowd went wild and it appears Omega will go on to face Ospreay at All In later this summer.