On January 5, 2025, the wrestling promotion New Japan held the major event Wrestle Dynasty, where one of the best wrestlers in the world celebrated his return – and that with epic boss music like from a raid in Final Fantasy XIV.
TAKE FLIGHTand a full version can currently be heard via @AEWMusic on X.
What happened? The long-awaited return of wrestler Kenny Omega was announced for the wrestling event Wrestle Dynasty. Even before the event, he stated via X.com that he would not only wrestle there for the first time in over a year but also present a new entrance music.
His return was ultimately accompanied by an epic theme composed by Masayoshi Soken, who is the long-time composer for the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV as well as the action RPG Final Fantasy XVI. The theme is sung by Jason Charles Miller, who previously collaborated with Soken on the expansion theme Shadowbringers, among others. According to Kenny Omega, the legendary Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu also supported him.
Here you can watch a clip of the entrance. Soken and Uematsu were both present at the premiere, as they announced in a post on X.
The One Winged Angel of Wrestling; Now with its own Boss Theme
Who is Kenny Omega? Kenny Omega has been active as a wrestler since 2000, but started under his real name Tyson Smith. He made his breakthrough in 2010 at the Japanese wrestling promotion New Japan. In 2019, he switched to the American competitor AEW (All Elite Wrestling), where he not only wrestles but is also active as an Executive Vice President.
Omega loves video games and cartoons. His finisher
, a move he wants to use to defeat his opponents in matches, is for example the One Winged Angel
– named after the Final Fantasy 7 villain Sephiroth.
At the end of 2023, Kenny Omega had to retire from wrestling due to a serious illness. Only in November 2024 did he make his first appearance at AEW again. However, he celebrated his return to the ring at his former promotion New Japan – indeed with the new theme.
Masayoshi Soken is known for his epic boss music. You can get an impression of it with the launch trailer for Final Fantasy XVI:
Boss battles like from pro wrestling matches & honeybee gimmicks
What does Final Fantasy have to do with wrestling? The current 8-man raid in Final Fantasy XIV is based on wrestling: The Arkadian. Here players compete as wrestlers in promotions against fighters with so-called gimmicks: One boss transforms into a cat-woman while another is traveling as a cute honeybee.
The latter particularly delights the players: A pop song from Final Fantasy XIV is about a honeybee, and it is currently on repeat among MMORPG players.
As with real wrestling, each opponent has their own boss music and is introduced by an announcer.
Naoki Yoshida, the director and producer of Final Fantasy XIV, also stated at a hands-on event for the also produced Final Fantasy XVI that the battles in the game are inspired by pro wrestling matches. This was mentioned during a now-unreachable interview with Game Informer. Excerpts can still be found among others at Gamerant.
Currently, Final Fantasy XIV is in the patch cycle between expansions. The next major content update is expected with 7.2 in March 2025. If Square Enix continues to stick to the established rhythm, the second wave of wrestling matches in the Arkadian should also go live then.
While the current 8-man raid is very well received by the community, some are still struggling with the story and the new characters of the Dawntrail expansion. Almost half a year after the release of the DLC, one of the biggest Final Fantasy XIV streamers has now spoken out: A major streamer on Final Fantasy XIV on Twitch explains what went wrong in the MMORPG.
