When it comes to legit nerd cred in the world of pro wrestling, no one can match Xavier Woods and Kenny Omega. Woods’ YouTube gaming channel UpUpDownDown has over 600,000 subscribers and a host of WWE guests (more Baron Corbin playing Road Rash please), while Omega has been delivering Hadoukens and One-Winged Angels in Japan for years. They’ve teased a gaming rivalry on Twitter for a while now, but they recently got the chance to throw down properly. At the CEO 2016 fighting game convention in Orlando, Omega was enjoying the guest of honor treatment when Woods barged in and laid down the gauntlet. The rules of engagement: Traditional first-to-five competition rules in Street Fighter V. Here’s the full thing, thanks to Capcom’s pro Street Fighter channel.
Omega’s been known to pick Cody, but he rolls with Alex here. Woods opts for Birdie, also known as Street Fighter‘s answer to Roadhog from Overwatch. (Yes, I know Birdie debuted way before Roadhog, be quiet.) By the way, I wouldn’t be doing this justice if I didn’t point out that Omega has a custom fightstick with his logo on it. That’s about as hardcore as it gets, and I’m pretty sure it gave him the edge he needed for the victory here.
Shout-out to these live commentators by the way, they’re like Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan speaking a language I don’t understand in the slightest. I absolutely suck at fighting games, so most of this goes right over my head. If you think wrestling fans get too nitpicky, try listening to competitive Smash Bros. players argue about the exact dimensions of Fox’s hitbox.
