Kenny Omega signs with All Elite Wrestling as AEW Double or Nothing card begins to take shape

Omega landed exactly where we thought he would

By Jack Crosby

Feb 8, 2019 at 10:39 am ET • 2 min read

All Elite Wrestling

The hottest free agent in professional wrestling is officially off the market. Ahead of its inaugural event, Double or Nothing, set to take place in Las Vegas on May 25, All Elite Wrestling held a ticket announcement rally outside the MGM Grand Garden Arena with a plethora of fans in attendance on Thursday night. To close the event, Elite founding member and former IWGP heavyweight champion Kenny Omega was revealed as the latest addition to the talent roster -- but that was not the only surprise. As Omega walked out through the adoring fans, the chryon at the bottom of the screen noted that he also holds the same title within the company as Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks: executive vice president.

Omega, 35, was the most sought after free agent in recent memory. With his New Japan Pro-Wrestling contract expiring on Jan. 31, it was common knowledge that his decision would come down to joining his friends on their AEW venture or accepting what was said to be a more-than-lucrative offer from WWE. In the end, as most of us expected, Omega will continue his quest to "change the world" with those he's closest with. Omega is coming off arguably the best year of his career in 2018, where he captured the IWGP heavyweight title in June from Kazuchika Okada in an instant classic 2-out-of-3 falls match. He dropped the title to the legendary Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in the main event, signaling that he was on his way out of the promotion.

This is professional wrestling, though, so the announcement of Omega's addition did not go off without a hitch. As the ex-Bullet Club leader was about to give his signature sign-off, former Wrestle Kingdom opponent and fellow big-name AEW signee Chris Jericho rudely interrupted. There were no words shared on the microphone, but of course, a shoving match ensued before the two were pulled away from one another to close the festivities.

.@IAmJericho has crashed @KennyOmegamanX's party! #AEW #DoubleOrNothing

➡️ https://t.co/HWPjoFVNi3 pic.twitter.com/uHlQVXqrzg
— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) February 8, 2019

While no official announcement was made, the confrontation between Omega and Jericho seemed to point toward their Wrestle Kingdom 12 rematch taking place at Double or Nothing on May 25 in the MGM Grand Garden Arena. More signings were also revealed by AEW on Thursday, including that of the Lucha Brothers, Pentagon and Rey Fenix. As those signings were announced, the card for the Double or Nothing pay-per-view event appears to be taking shape. Below, you can have a look at how the card is shaping out as of Thursday night's rally.