Kenny Omega will likely never be known as a Superstar, but he was once part of Deep South Wrestling, a developmental territory for WWE. Speaking candidly during a Twitch stream, Omega detailed the physical and emotional toll of training Bill DeMott employed, and how it pushed him to the limit.
“He allowed for me to develop a palette to eat s*** on a daily basis, over and over again—get the f*** beaten out of me on a daily basis, over and over again. Be told that you’re nothing, that you’ll never be anything, that you’re not good enough, that everything you do is wrong, that you suck.”
Despite the emotional strain, Omega expressed a complicated sense of respect for the experience. The former AEW World Champion now believes that DeMott’s tactics ultimately did him good and would like to reward him.
“If you can endure that, you emerge as a better person, a tougher person. For that, I would love to shake his hand or buy him a meal.”
DeMott’s methods were known for being controversial, including allegedly using homophobic and racial slurs against the young wrestlers. When several wrestlers came forward, alleging that Demott had let trainees train while naked and accused him of condoning sexual harrassment, DeMott would step down from WWE in 2015.
As for Omega, he has become a decorated champion and a well-respected name in wrestling, and believes he has Bill DeMott to thank for some of his success.