AEW superstar Kenny Omega took part in a Q&A session on the last night of Starrcast following the U.S. premiere of his documentary Omega Man: A Wrestling Love Story. When someone asked Omega why he didn’t persuade his longtime friend and “Golden Lover” tag partner Kota Ibushi to join AEW, Omega emotionally admitted that he didn’t want to take Ibushi away from his dream of becoming the IWGP Heavyweight champion for NJPW.

I knew that I couldn’t ask Ibushi to sign. I couldn’t do it, because I knew it was his time, and he deserved it. Anyway, I knew that if I asked for him to come here, that he would. And if I begged for him to come, that he would. But, I knew that his dream before anything that we ever did was to win the IWGP Heavyweight Belt.

Ibushi announced back in April a lifetime contract with NJPW, and explicitly stated that he plans on ending his career there. While this doesn’t necessarily rule out a future reunion for Omega and Ibushi, either in NJPW or AEW, it’s clear that he’ll never become a full-time AEW roster member. Check out footage of Omega’s touching moment below. (Special thanks to H.D. Thang for sharing.)

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