2023 has been quite the year for the wrestling business as a whole. With multiple international shows for multiple major companies, an incredible uptick in the value of tag team wrestling in a company that previously didn’t value it, beautifully crafted wrestling coming out of every corner of the globe, and wrestlers making history, it’s that last point that has somewhat slipped under the radar compared to everything else that has been happening in the business.
When it comes to making history in 2023, Will Ospreay is one of the first people who should come to mind. From having an incredible match quality to wrestling these classics all over the world, I cannot think of anyone who has achieved more than him this year. Having wrestled 70+ matches this year in more than seven promotions across the globe, Ospreay has earned the moniker of ‘the last world beater’. After making waves across Japan, England, and the US, wrestling just about anyone who stepped up, and landing a major new deal all within the same 12 month period, its safe to say that 2023 may just be Ospreay’s most important career year to date.
Ospreay started the year out in the way he meant to go on – delivering a match of unreal quality and helping create an insanely special moment. At Wrestle Kingdom 17, just four days into the year, Will defended the IWGP United States championship against Kenny Omega in a bout that is still highly regarded as match of the year – and for good reason. The match was incredible, and Ospreay and Omega went to such extreme lengths to create something special in the Tokyo Dome. They waged war for just shy of 35 minutes, and when it all came to an end we got one of the most memorable moments of the year – Omega beating Ospreay for the belt. The visual of Ospreay reaching out towards the title as Kenny was awarded it is something that has stuck out to me this entire year.
February included a stretch of time where Ospreay was wrestling some of the best up-and-comers in the britwres scene, including talents like Robbie X, Leyton Buzzard, and Luke Jacobs. This is a trend we’ve seen with Ospreay across 2023 in his hometown scene (also having matches with Callum Newman and Leon Slater in June and July respectively). Considering how much love Ospreay has for the scene, it isn’t surprising to see him pushing the new generation to their limits. Will himself has spoken time and time again about how important britwres is to him, particularity Revolution Pro Wreslting, and how he wants to help it be reformed to its former glory – something that is honestly quite admirable considering just how important he’s become in the wrestling business world wide.
March was a bit of a rough one for Ospreay – during a match with fellow United Empire member Mark Davis, Will sustained a shoulder injury that caused him to have to widthdraw from the New Japan Cup he’d been competing in. His time away recovering was brief though, and barely five weeks later he was back in the ring. By May he was working his way back towards the title he lost in January. Defeating both Hiroshi Tanahashi and Lance Archer in a #1 Contendership tournament, Ospreay found himself face to face once again with the man who took the IWGP United States Title from him.
“The Summer Of Ospreay has come to an end.
Omega. Okada. Takagi. Jericho. Marufuji. Tsuji.”
Those are the words tweeted by Will Ospreay on September 24th, following yet another classic bout in his catalogue. Having followed his career for years now, I don’t think I could pinpoint more successful year than this for Will. Spanning across multiple companies and countries around the world, Ospreay has been part of some of the biggest moments in modern wrestling history in the last 12 months. Even following on from when Will himself sent out the tweet referenced above, he’s gone on to have even more stand out moments in the closing stretch of 2023. Matches with Zack Sabre Jr. and Shota Umino have rounded out Ospreay’s 2023 match catalogue (thus far) in such a way that makes him untouchable when it comes to “wrestler of the year” conversations.
At Forbidden Door, hosted in Toronto, Ospreay once again clashed with Kenny Omega. Ever since Omega defeated Ospreay in the Toyko Dome, the rematch had been highly anticipated. Many doubted their ability to be able to top their Wrestle Kingdom match; whilst I believe the first bout is still the better overall match, their second meeting of 2023 was nothing short of incredible. Seeing Will going into ‘enemy territory’ and putting on such an impressive performance with Kenny that he got a standing ovation when he defeated the home-country hero was a magical moment.
Shortly after Forbidden Door, it was time for NJPW’s G1 Climax, and going into this years tournament, Ospreay was one of popular picks to win the whole tournament. Unfortunately it was not meant to be his year, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have some stellar matches along the way. During the block rounds, Will came toe to toe with Kazuchika Okada. This was one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament – Okada and Ospreay are both incredible wrestlers that have a rich history together. This stands out as one of Ospreay’s biggest wins this year because even though the two have wrestled in singles competition nine times since 2015, this was only the second time that Ospreay has scored the victory over Okada.
August saw Ospreay have two incredible matches on back to back nights. Before we get to the (admittedly) bigger of the two, I have to discuss Ospreay vs Shingo Takagi. This match took place at Revolution Pro Wrestling’s 11th Anniversary show. Main eventing the night, the two absolutely tore the house down. It was just a display of classic professional wrestling and was a genuine treat to watch in person.
Even with just having covered a handful of the matches Ospreay has had this year, it’s very clear to see just how successful 2023 has been for him. Saying that, the next two marquee moments of ‘the summer of Ospreay’ are what I would consider to be the most noteworthy from the entire year. The first of these is AEW: All In London, which was the company’s first time making the journey across the pond. The event was hosted at the historic Wembley Stadium, with over 80,000 fans in attendance. Despite not being an official member of the roster at the time, Ospreay was given a coveted spot on the card in a singles match against Chris Jericho. The atmosphere for his entrance was beyond electric – the British crowd was absolutely enamoured with seeing one of their own being presented as a star at one of the biggest shows in wrestling history. Seeing him defeat Jericho in Wembly Stadium felt special in a way that I struggle to put into words.
The second occurred not even a month later – On September 17th, Ospreay competed in Pro Wrestling NOAH in order to face Noamichi Marufuji on the show celebrating 25 years of his career. The match was wonderful to watch, and the respect between the two wrestlers was palpable. After going toe to toe with one of the greatest, Ospreay cut a wonderful promo putting over Marafuji and the importance of the man’s career, and how honoured he was to wrestle him on his anniversary show.
Rounding out this insane series of opponents was NJPW’s Yota Tsuji at Destruction in Kobe. In a match that was just shy of 28 minutes, one of New Japan’s brightest young prospects took Ospreay to the limit. The match had one of the most brutal closing stretches I’ve seen in a (non-stipulation) match this year, and was the perfect match to close out this series of career making moments and matches for Will.
Even though we’ve now been through possibly one of the most impressive stretches of a year a wrestler may’ve ever had, 2023 was far from over for Will and there is still plenty of standout moments to be discussed here. October saw Ospreay coming face to face with Zack Sabre Jr in the main event of Royal Quest III, NJPW’s annual London show. Wrestling for 30+ minutes, the two absolutely tore the house down in a display of British excellence within this business. Following that was a brief stop in IMPACT Wrestling, where Ospreay put on matches with the likes of Josh Alexander, ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey, and Eddie Edwards. His match against Speedball was the one that made waves in the community, and the two gave performances that led to what many are saying is one of the best matches to ever grace an IMPACT ring.
In November, Ospreay’s latest match that has blown away the wrestling community was against Shota Umino at NJPW’s Power Struggle. The match clocked in at just over 40 minutes, but the pacing of the bout makes it fly by. This is far from the first time these two have met in ring, but was absolutely the best performance put on by them both. In my opinion, this was a career defining moment for Shota, and proved that he could stand toe to toe with one of the best wrestlers in the business.
Away from the ring, it has been revealed where Ospreay will land after his current New Japan contract comes to an end. Being touted as a “blockbuster announcement”, Will made a surprise appearance at AEW’s Full Gear event where he confirmed that as of February 2024, he will officially be All Elite. Referring to his new path as the “road to Revolution”, it begs the question – who will be Ospreay’s first opponent as an official contracted member of AEW?
Before we get there though, Ospreay still has at least two important matches to get through. He will be facing Gabe Kidd at Revolution Pro Wrestling’s last major event of the year, Uprising. This match is a huge one for the britwres scene, as two of the major wrestlers that have come out of the country and made a name for themselves world wide clash in Crystal Palace. The build to the match has been unfolding on social media for the most part, and a boiling point has been reached. The match is one that has been a long time coming and could be a late contender for the match of the year.
The final important match-up we know of before Will settles into his new contract actually takes place at the beginning of next year. It has been known for a while now that Ospreay will be defending his championship at Wrestle Kingdom 18 against AEW’s Jon Moxley and NJPW’s David Finlay. This match was born out of Mox standing toe to toe with Ospreay after the latter had just torn the house down with Shota Umino. The party was crashed by the current Bullet Club leader, Finlay attacking both men and destroying Ospreay’s belts. It has since been revealed that this match will be for the brand new ‘Global Championship’. This match is an interesting one – Ospreay has undeniable chemistry with both of these men and I have no doubt that it will deliver, but the question on everyone’s mind is why did David Finlay need to be involved? Now I have no personal objections to it as a fan of his, but from a booking standpoint it does feel out of left field, and perhaps a way for New Japan to guarantee the title will stay in Japan full time? Or maybe, Finlay will be accepting the responsibility of being the pinned talent in this match? Only time will tell.
With all that being said, I genuinely do believe that the 2023 Ospreay has had will go down as not only one of the most impressive calendar years a wrestler has had, but also as one of the most important. It is safe to say that Will Ospreay is truly wrestler of the year, and I’m not sure we’ll see anyone have anywhere near as close of a career defining year for a long, long time.
