At AEW All In: Texas, Kazuchika Okada defeated his legendary rival Kenny Omega to become the first-ever AEW Unified Champion, capturing both the AEW Continental and International Championships. In a post-show media scrum, the new champion, alongside his manager Don Callis, addressed the historic victory, while AEW President Tony Khan made a major announcement regarding the future of the new title. Scroll down to watch the video of the announcement.
“The Men Who Put Kenny Omega Down for Good”
Don Callis, speaking on behalf of Okada, was triumphant and boastful in victory. “It’s a great night, because we’re all here to bear witness to a man that I like to say is the ace of All Elite Wrestling,” Callis began. “A man who wrestled a flawless strategy here tonight, who not only became the first unified champion, he will go down in the history books, along with me, as the men who put Kenny Omega down for good.”
When asked how it felt to be the best, Okada’s response, translated by Callis, was simple: “Yeah, I feel good because I finished Kenny… I ended it.”
A New Rule for a New Championship
The match was not without controversy, as Don Callis interfered, pulling the referee out of the ring to prevent a pinfall for Omega. After the match, Tony Khan addressed the finish and made a major ruling for the future of the Unified Championship.
“We fought a match under the unified rules of AEW, where the referee’s decision is final,” Khan explained. “If we had been under Continental Rules, Don, I would have fired you for that… The Continental Champion won the match. So going forward, the prevailing rules will be the Continental Rules. So there will never be outside interference ever again in a Unified Championship match.” Callis agreed to the new stipulation, stating, “I don’t want any excuses… This is what excellence looks like, and we’re going to show it.”
A Global Champion
Callis also declared that he and Okada plan to defend the new championship around the globe. “I feel that I am doing the world a service by letting people in every remote corner, whether it’s Mexico, Japan, you’re anywhere to get them to see live what greatness looks like,” he said. “This is the best Japanese wrestler I’ve ever seen, better than Rikidozan, better than Inoki, better than Tanahashi. He’s better than all of them.”
With his victory at All In, Kazuchika Okada now holds both the AEW Continental and International Championships. As the new Unified Champion, he will defend the title under Continental Rules, ensuring no outside interference in his future championship matches.
