With Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s release fast approaching, Square Enix will be holding a special livestream co-hosted by "The God of Pro Wrestling" Kenny Omega! Read on to learn more about the event and Omega.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Launch Will be Met With a Variety of Special Guests
Final Fantasy Superfan and Pro Wrestler Kenny Omega to Co-Host
Over the weekend, Square Enix announced on Twitter(X) that they will be having a special livestream to count down the release of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (FF7RB). The Japanese RPG's launch will be met and hosted by two Canadian personalities: actress and former IGN host Naomi Kyle; and Pro Wrestler and video game nerd Kenny Omega. They will be joined by the following voice actors from the cast of FF7RB:
● Barret Wallace voiced by John Eric Bentley
● Tifa Lockhart voiced by Britt Baron
● Aerith Gainsborough voiced by Briana White
● Yuffie Kisaragi voiced by Suzie Yeung
● Red XIII voiced by Max Mittelman
With the game right around the corner, you can find the link to the livestream above before it commences on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, at 1 p.m. PDT. Refer to the table below or your corresponding time zone.
| Region | Local Release Time |
|---|---|
| United States (EDT) | Feb 28, 4:00 p.m. |
| United States (PDT) | Feb 28, 1:00 p.m. |
| United Kingdom | Feb 28, 9:00 p.m. |
| New Zealand | Feb 29, 10:00 a.m. |
| Australian East Coast | Feb 29, 8:00 a.m. |
| Australian West Coast | Feb 29, 5:00 a.m. |
| Japan | Feb 29, 6:00 a.m. |
| Philippines | Feb 29, 5:00 a.m. |
| South Africa | Feb 28, 11:00 p.m. |
| Brazil | Feb 28, 6:00 p.m. |
The special countdown event will be presenting new gameplay footage and hosting various Collector’s Edition giveaways alongisde other unannounced celebrations. Click the link below for more information about FF7RB’s Collector’s Edition
Kenny Omega and Video Games
Cosplayed as Sephiroth in Japan’s Biggest Pro Wrestling Event "Wrestle Kingdom 17"
Canadian Pro Wrestler Kenny Omega, real name Tyson Smith, often nicknamed as "The God of Pro Wrestling," "The Cleaner," and "The Best Bout Machine" has always been transparent about his love for video games. His stage name itself was derived from the Final Fantasy series’ "Omega Weapon." His wrestling signature movie is a knee strike dubbed as the "V-Trigger" from Street Fighter V, whereas his finishing maneuver that has never never been kicked out of is named "One Winged Angel," derived from FF7's most iconic villain Sephiroth’s and his most well-known boss battle music. He has also previously used Megaman tracks as his entrance music before and after wrestling bouts.
Omega's love for Final Fantasy 7 culminated when, on January 4, 2023, in Japan’s biggest Pro Wrestling Event "Wrestle Kingdom 17(WK17)" hosted by wrestling promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling(NJPW), he came out to the co-main event dressed up as Sephiroth himself. Flames of the Nibelheim massacre can be seen in the titantrons behind Omega as he walked down the stage of the immortal Tokyo Dome to the thunderous orchestration of FF7 Remake’s "One Winged Angel Rebirth" track composed by famed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu.
UNDERTALE and DELATUNE Collaborations Between Toby Fox, and Kenny Omega
Besides Final Fantasy, Omega has collaborated with Toby Fox, creator and UNDERTALE and DELTARUNE. For Omega’s match for WK13 back in January 2019, he had a special video package produced in collaboration with Fox to have Omega’s current wrestling plotline adapted to UNDERTALE/DELTARUNE’s graphics. As the video package played in the giant titantron, Kenny was dressed up as Kris from DELTARUNE as he came out to a remix of one of UNDERTALE’s most emotional tracks, Hopes and Dreams / Save the World.
Later that year during the Halloween episode of All Elite Wrestling(AEW)’s weekly wrestling show Dynamite, Omega and Fox had another collaboration where Omega came out as Sans from UNDERTALE as the skeleton’s most infamous battle theme "Megalovania" ringed throughout the arena.
Kenny Omega’s Love for Street Fighter
Omega also constantly alludes to Street Fighter, where early in his career he would perform a "Hadouken" as a move against wrestling opponents. It was also previously mentioned how one of his current signature moves, the V-Trigger, is named after the Street Fighter V mechanic.
Most recently, on October 28, 2023 for AEW’s other weekly wrestling show "Collision," Omega dressed up as his Street Fighter 6 main, Manon, brandishing the blank and pink outfit with feathers on his shoulder sleeves. Curiously, as he went under the ropes to begin the match, the feather from his left shoulder got detached and fell off, leaving the one on his right as another callback to the One Winged Angel of Sephiroth.
Sources:
NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING | KENNY OMEGA / One Winged Angel Rebirth - WK17 Entrance & Theme
Being the Elite | Kenny’s Quest - WK13 UNDERTALE/DELTARUNE Video Package
Full WK13 UNDERTALE/DETLARUNE Entrance
WK13 Entrance Hopes and Dreams / Save the World GaMetal Remix
AEW Dynamite Halloween Kenny Omega Sans Full Entrance
AEW Collision Kenny Omega Manon Full Entrance
