AEW's Kenny Omega Gives Diverticulitis Surgery Update, Says He Considered Retirement

Kenny Omega is currently shelved indefinitely due to an ongoing battle with diverticulitis. Fans hoped a return was on the horizon as Omega engaged in a physical spot on the May 1 edition of "AEW Dynamite." However, he confirmed during a Twitch stream that his appearance necessitated another trip to the hospital and he will be getting surgery in the next few days. 

"I take risks when I do anything. I try to mitigate those risks by being home a lot," he said. "But when I step out of my comfort zone, when I start to take flights, when I start to be in other cities, countries, things go out of whack real quick. And I did have to go back to the hospital. But also the good news with that is that I was able to get some pre-op stuff done." 

Omega said there is good news and bad news, the latter of which being he won't be streaming anytime soon, as he has been throughout his absence from AEW. However, he found a positive in that the doctor he is being treated by is top of his field and has been able to accommodate him sooner than expected. 

"I will actually be getting surgery very soon... That's coming up right away, a couple of days, so I'm looking forward to it. Little bit of nerves, of course. But to have such a capable doctor that I was able to have take care of this as quickly as he is, I do feel fortunate. I do feel that luck was on my side. There's good and there's bad. I'm feeling good about it. I'm optimistic," he added.

Kenny Omega continued on a more somber note, revealing that retirement had been a very real consideration in light of his diagnosis. 

"There was a moment when I was dealing with all of this stuff when I wasn't sure if I was coming back," he said. "I was heavily considering the possibility that I might not ever... Had I needed to announce my retirement, I felt like I was in a place where I could have done it with a smile on my face. Because I feel like I've had a wonderful career, and I have had a lot of fun doing this, I've met a lot of great people. I've been able to do things I never thought I'd be able to do."

However, since changing doctors, "The Cleaner" says he hopes to return to the ring either the same or better than before. However, he pointed out that he may have been at the beginning of diverticulitis during his AEW World Title run, but he put the pain down to his hernia. The time off has been good, though, as it's forced him to re-invent himself. 

"It's actually given me a chance to consider a new Kenny Omega. Maybe re-packaging, and sort of presenting something completely different. Re-branding, if you will, when I come back. To what degree, I don't know, I guess I'll just have to see how I feel. In a perfect world, I'd like to come back better than I was before. Like not in my prime, come on, those days are done. I wanna come back a little different and bring something new to the table."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Kenny Omega's Twitch and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.