Kenny Omega just turned the biggest wrestling show on the planet into a real-life anime episode, and the entire internet is losing its mind. At AEW All In London, “The Cleaner” channeled his inner Izuku Midoriya and screamed “Plus Ultra” right in the middle of the ring, proving once and for all that the line between professional wrestling and anime fandom is officially dead.
If you thought Kenny Omega’s love of anime was just a quirky personality trait, think again. The AEW Executive Vice President has been dropping anime references throughout his entire career, from his One-Winged Angel finisher named after Kingdom Hearts to his V-Trigger kick borrowed straight from Street Fighter. But this time, Omega didn’t just reference anime. He became anime.
The Moment That Broke the Internet
During AEW All In London at Wembley Stadium, Kenny Omega delivered one of the most dramatic performances of his career. After hitting his signature moves and rallying the crowd of over 80,000 fans, Omega paused at the top of the turnbuckle and shouted the iconic My Hero Academia catchphrase “Plus Ultra” before diving into the crowd. The clip spread like wildfire across social media within minutes.
Tony Schiavone, AEW’s lead commentator, could barely contain his excitement on the broadcast, shouting “That’s Plus Ultra, baby!” as the crowd erupted. Fans watching at home immediately started clipping and posting the moment, and within an hour, #KennyOmega and #PlusUltra were both trending worldwide on X (formerly Twitter).
Why This Matters for Anime Fans
Kenny Omega has always been the bridge between wrestling and otaku culture. Born Tyson Smith in Winnipeg, Canada, Omega grew up on a steady diet of Dragon Ball Z, Final Fantasy, and pro wrestling. He famously carried his Game Boy to wrestling events and openly discussed his love for Japanese RPGs in interviews with outlets like NHK and Tokyo Sports.
His wrestling persona is basically an anime protagonist come to life. Omega’s feud with Kazuchika Okada in New Japan Pro-Wrestling was already being called the greatest wrestling rivalry of the modern era, but when you factor in the storytelling, the dramatic near-falls, and the sheer emotional weight of their matches, it felt more like the final arc of a shonen manga than a sporting event.
Other wrestlers who share this anime connection include Cody Rhodes, who has spoken about watching anime with his daughter, and Hikaru Shida, the former AEW Women’s Champion who brings a distinctly Japanese fighting style to the ring. But nobody commits to the bit quite like Kenny Omega.
The Wrestling World Reacts
The reaction from fellow wrestlers was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. Will Ospreay, who faced Omega in one of the most acclaimed matches of 2025, posted on X: “Only Kenny could make a stadium of 80,000 people scream an anime catchphrase. The man is genuinely one of a kind.” Hangman Adam Page, Omega’s former tag team partner in The Elite, simply tweeted a crying emoji followed by “Plus Ultra forever.”
Even Christopher Daniels, a veteran who has wrestled in both the US and Japan for over two decades, called it “the perfect encapsulation of what makes Kenny special. He takes these things that are deeply personal to him, like anime and video games, and makes the entire audience care about them.”
From Bullet Club to Plus Ultra
Omega’s journey from the Bullet Club in New Japan Pro-Wrestling to co-founding All Elite Wrestling reads exactly like a manga plot arc. He left Japan as the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, one of the most prestigious titles in wrestling, to help build a new promotion from the ground up. Along the way, he’s main-evented multiple AEW pay-per-views, won the AEW World Championship, and cemented himself as one of the greatest performers in wrestling history.
But what makes Omega truly special is how he weaves his personal passions into his work. His finisher, the One-Winged Angel, is named after the ultimate attack from Kingdom Hearts’ Organization XIII. His V-Trigger knee strike references the special move system from Street Fighter. Even his nickname, “The Cleaner,” feels like it was pulled straight out of a yakuza anime.
At AEW All In London, all of these elements came together in one transcendent moment. Omega wasn’t just performing. He was living out every anime fan’s ultimate fantasy: being the protagonist of your own story, surrounded by thousands of people who believe in you, screaming your catchphrase into the void and hearing it echo back.
What’s Next for Kenny Omega?
With AEW continuing to expand globally and Omega showing no signs of slowing down, fans are already speculating about what his next anime-inspired moment might be. Could we see a Dragon Ball Z-inspired power-up transformation? A Final Fantasy-style entrance with a full theme song performance? The possibilities are as endless as a long-running shonen series.
One thing is certain: Kenny Omega has proven that anime and professional wrestling are not just compatible, they’re a perfect match. When 80,000 people at Wembley Stadium can scream “Plus Ultra” in unison, you know the culture has officially merged. It’s the kind of moment that belongs alongside the biggest anime events of the year, right up there with the announcements from Netflix Anime NYC and One Piece’s latest revelations.
What Do You Think?
Was Kenny Omega’s Plus Ultra moment the greatest anime-wrestling crossover of all time? Which anime reference should he pull off next? Drop your thoughts in the comments below! Do you think other wrestlers should embrace their inner otaku more openly, or is Kenny the only one who can pull it off?
