by Kenny Omega’s five year journey with NJPW started with his grand reveal as the newest Bullet Club member on November 8th 2014 at Power Struggle. Immediately, he stated his intentions to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, declaring “I’m here to clean up the junior division.”
Omega spent barely a full-time year in the junior heavyweight division, but in that time he ushered in a character that has become a fabled piece of his legacy. His initial 7 month character building reign as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion was centred on Omega introducing the Cleaner: his grandiose displays of villainous pageantry outlining him as somebody entirely unique on the New Japan roster.
Match by match, defence by defence, the Cleaner became more evident and dramatic, Omega leaning more into the iconic character he had created – not as the ace of the junior division, but as the villain.
January 4th 2015– Wrestle Kingdom 9
Ryusuke Taguchi (C) vs Kenny Omega
The birth of the Cleaner and Omega’s rise through the New Japan ranks started here. His first match since becoming a full time member of NJPW, on the largest possible stage, and the chance to claim the top junior title.
The match focuses on introducing Omega’s new character and cementing him as a powerhouse of the junior division. The super-villain like Omega takes advantage of the perks afforded him underneath the Bullet Club banner, including having The Young Bucks at ringside to provide interference and using a cold spray can to temporarily blind Taguchi.
Perhaps most villainous of all is the use of Omega’s signature chainsaw! “Three to four days before a match, he likes to shave his arms so ‘the stubble starts to grow’ and he can use his arm ‘like a rake or saw’.” Absolutely diabolical from the pantomime outlaw.
The match doesn’t meet the lofty expectations we associate with Omega today, but it was never meant to; time instead being prominently spent ensuring the Cleaner is brought to life. One thing made abundantly clear is Omega’s strength, catching Taguchi’s hip attack in mid-air and transitioning into a deadly dragon suplex, kicking out of Taguchi’s Dodon finisher twice, and ending things in trademark Omega fashion: a V-Trigger followed up with the omnipotent One Winged Angel. The Cleaner had begun taking out the trash.
February 11th 2015 – The New Beginning in Osaka
Kenny Omega (C) vs Ryusuke Taguchi
In their initial meeting there was a smidge of comedy, as would be expected in a Taguchi match, but in this meeting the comedy is taking up a number of levels. Omega elects to use the pole of a Bullet Club flag to…err…poke up Taguchi’s bum. Taguchi gets his revenge by shoving the flag up Omega’s bum (don’t worry, he used the opposite end!) and then using the flag as a Matador would use a red cape to have Omega charge out of the ring. Olé!
Omega has never shied away from his love of comedic wrestling and it works in perfect tandem with the Cleaner. Who doesn’t want to see an arrogant person ridiculed?
The interference is minimal and contained to the opening segments of the match. It’s a surprise that the ringside Bullet Club members don’t get heavily involved and also an indicator to the direction Omega would eventually head: putting on clean matches with definitive finishes.
The finish is sudden. Omega picking Taguchi off of the top rope for the One Winged Angel and, a three count later, it’s his first successful defence of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Comedy at his behest and no need for Bullet Club interruptions showed that Omega can be more than what you may expect.
April 5th 2015 – Invasion Attack
Kenny Omega (C) vs Máscara Dorada (Gran Metalik)
Dorada dominates the opening stretch with his mastery of the ropes getting the better of Omega. However, a frankensteiner attempt on the outside ends in dismay when Omega’s strength overpowers Dorada and Omega lands a shattering apron-bomb.
For the first time since winning the title, Omega is forced to fight from underneath. The only time Omega gains the advantage is when he can use his power, but Dorada seldom allows Omega the opportunity. It’s shocking just how little offence Omega has – the vast majority of the match is used as a showcase of Dorada’s remarkable athleticism.
It shows a different side to Omega that we hadn’t yet see, struggling to fight from beneath. His victory highlighted the importance of his killer trio that have taken him to glory on a number of occasions; the dragon suplex, V-Trigger and One Winged Angel. That’s almost all it took for Omega to overcome Dorada and retain his title. Zero outside interference and no shenanigans. Omega took shot after shot and still walked away victorious, and all it took was his unconquerable finisher.
Although still the bastard villain, it showed the resilience of Omega rather than his outward strength. This moment made it clear that for anybody to take the title from him, they’d need to be nothing less than a superhero.
May 3rd 2015 – Wrestling Dontaku
Kenny Omega (C) vs Alex Shelley
“I’ve cleaned up Japanese garbage. I’ve cleaned up Mexican garbage. Now, there’s only one left, the worst garbage of them all. American garbage.”
Hard at work, the Cleaner had been sweeping the trash across different continents, now looking to throw Shelley in the garbage, literally. Omega uses a rubbish bin to brutalize Shelley, throwing it at Shelley as he attempts a dive, wickedly booting it directly into Shelley’s face before finally putting the bin over the top of his head and then smashing it with a broom.
This is one of the hidden gems of Omega’s 2015 – a back-and-forth match looping from Shelley’s fiery flying feats to Omega’s dramatic character and inescapable strength. When Shelley hits Automatic Midnight, the belt looks set to change hands until the Young Bucks pull the referee out of the ring. The interference had been minimal in the previous two matches, but you’d be unwise to forget Omega’s Bullet Club allegiance and its benefits. Why lose honourably when you can win dishonourably?
Shelley lands Sliced Bread but Omega kicks out, his proven resilience in every title match thus far paying dividends, once again reminding us that he is the physical and mental powerhouse of the junior division.
A V-Trigger and One Winged Angel confirm defence number 3. The Cleaner was unstoppable, and with his broom in hand, he swept Shelley out of the ring. Electing not to compete in the Best of the Super Juniors (or “Best of the Super Garbage”), Omega’s next title defence would be two months later. The junior division needed a hero, and fast.
July 5th 2015 – Dominion
Kenny Omega (C) vs KUSHIDA
Batman has the Joker, and the Cleaner has KUSHIDA. Sweeping his way to the ring with a broom in hand, the stage was set for Omega’s standout performance in his first reign as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.
This is a perfect match of good versus evil. Omega punishes KUSHIDA, using his time to attack KUSHIDA’s knee. Omega bounces it off of the unforgiving apron, following up by dropping KUSHIDA knee first on the commentary table and using a multitude of submissions and kicks. All the while, he mocks KUSHIDA by slapping him and spitting water.
The final stretch is seamless. A flurry of impact moves and reversals, KUSHIDA did what no challenger had done yet, stopping the One Winged Angel and countering into the Hoverboard Lock with the Osaka crowd roaring behind him. Trapped in the middle of the ring with an already weakened arm, Omega is forced to tap out, and his sordid reign of terror as champion is over.
No good villain ever accepts defeat, with this being the first of a three-match saga between the pair. The title changed hands on every occasion and inevitably ended safely in the hands of KUSHIDA with Omega leaving the junior division for grander pastures.
Five years ago, Kenny Omega used the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to create a character that fans are still clamouring for today. The Cleaner would go on to have a wealth of success as a heavyweight, eventually developing into the Best Bout Machine that would give him deserved worldwide acclaim as the best in the world.
It was a purposeful character driven reign as champion, with glimpses of the Best Bout Machine coming to fruition in Omega’s final two matches. It worked to introduce the Cleaner and ensured we knew that Omega was the powerhouse of the juniors – seeds that would sprout into his jump to heavyweight. For a full year, Omega was the centrepiece of the junior heavyweight division. Of the nine matches for the title, he was involved in all but one.
Kenny Omega came to New Japan to “clean up the junior division”, and through his championship reign he accomplished his goal.
