Chris Jericho recently did an interview with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) to talk about his upcoming match with Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12 next weekend. Here are the highlights:

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The connection he feels to Kenny Omega and Japan:

“I’ve never wrestled Kenny Omega before. I understand how great Kenny Omega is – everybody’s talking about Kenny Omega and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to have this match. Because the timing for this match is perfect. It probably couldn’t have happened last year – it couldn’t have happened last year, it probably won’t happen next year, this is the time for “Alpha vs. Omega.”

“This is the time for Kenny vs. Jericho. And he’s from the same home city as I am; from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada – and to me, there’s a special connection there. He basically grew up in Japan, so did I, this is my 52nd tour of Japan in January. I think – we’re not just typical foreigners, we’re not just typical guys – we’re almost honorary Japanese.

His style compared to Omega’s:

“Well, once again, Kenny Omega has a great style – very good New Japan style, but I have New Japan style, I have WAR style, I have Mexico style, I have European style, I have ECW style, I have Smokey Mountain Wrestling style, I have WCW style, and more importantly, I have WWE style. Six-time World Heavyweight Champion. Kenny has never been even close to that. It’s a completely different world. Kenny Omega is a planet, Chris Jericho is the whole universe. I’m the Alpha. Alpha vs. Omega, it’s not just a catchphrase, it’s the truth.

“And it’s typical for someone like Kenny to think “Jericho can’t handle my style,” because he’s been so big here in New Japan. But he’s big with Okada, and Naito, and that’s great. Those four guys, five guys, six guys. I’ve been great against 50 guys! Against 100. Hall Of Famers. Some of the greatest of all time. Kenny Omega can’t even lace my boots up when it comes to that kind of respect, that kind of experience, that kind of knowledge that I have.”

Wanting to end Omega’s NJPW career:

“You don’t see blood on a New Japan ring, you don’t see blood in a WWE ring – the business has changed, it’s not about that anymore. Which I think is what made it so much more shocking when I hit Kenny over the head with the United States Championship and cut him open, bleeding everywhere- I liked it. It made me happy. It gave me energy. Made me feel alive. And it also change the entire concept of what this match is gonna be for me. At first, I thought, “Well, sure, if Kenny can have a seven star match I can have an eight star match, nine star match, the first-ever ten star match: “Alpha vs. Omega.”” Make Okada vs. Omega look like an opening match between a couple of young lions.

“But then, after Fukuoka, and then after the press conference in Tokyo the next day – it’s so violent, and intense, and vicious. This is gonna be a match like you’re not gonna see in New Japan again. It’s gonna be like a match – it’s gonna be a different type of match than any type of match at the Tokyo Dome. End of the match at Wrestle Kingdom 12. And once again, I like that, because to me it’s gonna stand out. You’re going to see the last match of Kenny Omega’s New Japan career happen at Wrestle Kingdom 12, because of me.

“Can you imagine all the New Japan Pro Wrestling fans? The women, crying. The little kids, crying. The longtime 20-year fans, crying when their hero, Kenny Omega’s career is over. Can you imagine how that’s going to make me feel? I’m gonna feel like the fu*king king of the world. Because I am. The best in the world. The greatest of all time. The Alpha. that’s who Chris Jericho is. And all the New Japan people, all the New Japan fans, and any wrestler in the New Japan locker room is going to learn a lesson. And it’s going to be a sad day for Kenny Omega and all of his fans at Wrestle Kingdom 12. I guarantee it.”