Will Ospreay has opened up on his decision to go to AEW, Triple H’s comments about him and more.
In February 2024, Will Ospreay officially became ‘All Elite’ four months after first putting pen to paper. The 31-year-old is now a regular highlight of AEW’s weekly programming and is a former two-time AEW International Champion, including winning the gold at Wembley Stadium.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Ospreay was first asked whether being able to stay in the UK was a key factor in deciding between AEW and WWE.
“Oh, absolutely. Yeah, the offers were night and day as well. The whole idea for me was to make money from this and I wanted to have the most amount of time with my family. Although three days out of the week I would be wrestling, I get Friday, Saturday, Sunday with my kid. Obviously, when there’s a pay-per-view it doesn’t, but I get that time with my kid.”
-Will Ospreay
Expanding more on his choice to go to AEW, Will discussed his genuine belief in the company and their style, saying he’s determined to be the top guy there.
“I believe in the style, I believe in the genre. I believe it is actually the best wrestling in North America right now and I just think, I wanna drive that home and I want to be the guy.”
-Will Ospreay
Ospreay then talked about his goal of making All In Texas as big as it can be, saying he’s willing to do anything and everything to promote the show. On this, he opened up on his passion for AEW and how it’s changed his life.
“I wanna go do everything because I feel like my passion comes out when I talk about AEW. I flipping love it. I love what I’m doing. It’s completely changed my life, dude. Everything about my life has changed since we last spoke as well and it’s been a crazy ride where I’m just super grateful.”
-Will Ospreay
Further discussing All In Texas, Ospreay made it clear that he wanted to be in the main event.
“I wanna be main event. I’ll be honest with you, I want it. The reason why I want it is because I think they trust me and I think the fans trust me with what the presentation and what the look of AEW should be.”
-Will Ospreay
Asked whether he thinks he’s the best wrestler in the world, Ospreay responded by questioning what the definition of ‘best’ is now, with it being a combination of many different factors.
“I’m confident in my abilities and I’m confident with my audience. Does that make me the best? I don’t know, because I feel the best now is so widely spread. Like are you the guy who draws the most? Are you the guy that shifts the most merch? Are you the best bell to bell?”
-Will Ospreay
Then, Triple H’s comments from prior to WrestleMania 41 were brought up, with many thinking that ‘The Game’ was referencing Ospreay when he said that wrestlers who don’t sign with WWE aren’t ‘in it for the grind’.
Addressing this, Ospreay said he had people confirming that the comments were directed at him and he’s okay with moving past it after both sides took a jab.
“He was. I’ve got people that I won’t throw under the bus saying, yeah, it was about me. I won’t throw any of the names under the bus but it was about me. I’m not taking it personally like in that it hurt my feelings. It’s like, you take a jab at me, I’ll take one back. There’s nothing horrible about it, I don’t hate the guy, I’ve never met him. How can I hate someone I’ve never even met? I’ve never spoken to him, I have an agency to talk to everyone and I’ve told everybody about my situation and why I want to remain in the UK which is why that hurt me a little bit but to the point where it keeps me up at night. It’s just okay, you take a jab at me, I’ll take one back and then that’s it, we’re done.”
-Will Ospreay
Chris Van Vliet then brought up how Ospreay joining AEW came shortly after CM Punk had left the company, mentioning how the pair could’ve wrestled if it’d have worked out differently. In response, Will said he has no ill will towards Punk and hopes he’s doing well.
“Just narrowly missed it, but it is what it is. No issues with him on my side of things and I hope he’s doing well.”
-Will Ospreay
Looking to future possible matchups, Ospreay said that Hangman Page is someone he’d want to face in AEW.
“Hangman is the only one I’ve never actually, we wrestled in a six man in New Japan, but did a comeback and that was it. I feel like that’s the main character. That’s the guy.”
-Will Ospreay
Up next for Ospreay is AEW Revolution on March 9. ‘The Aerial Assassin’ is set to take on his former friend Kyle Fletcher in a steel cage in what will be the fourth singles match between them since they joined the company.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Will Ospreay as soon as we hear more.
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