Will Ospreay: ‘Tony Khan has genuinely changed my life’

Will Ospreay opened up about his decision to sign with AEW in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated. 

He mentioned in the article that he first met Tony Khan nearly five years ago at RevPro High Stakes in February 2019, just weeks after AEW had been officially announced. 

“At the time, Tony asked what I was interested in doing next in my career,” said Ospreay. “I said my focus was on Japan, and he respected that. I’ll always remember how he respected how I felt. I also need to mention that night was the only singles match I’ve ever wrestled against PAC–that’s something I want to throw out there so we can run it back and put it to rest between us.”

At the time, Ospreay was the NEVER Openweight Champion in NJPW after having defeated Kota Ibushi for the belt at Wrestle Kingdom 13. He ended up dropping the title to Jeff Cobb two months later at the NJPW/ROH G1 Special from Madison Square Garden. 

“People need to remember this–since then, I’ve built a trust and respect with Tony,” said Ospreay. “That’s very important to me. When Tony had me work matches for AEW, like I did this summer at All In at Wembley Stadium, he didn’t have to do that. He trusted me. That meant the world to me.

“Now that I’m coming to AEW, I trust him with the aura of Will Ospreay and the character of Will Ospreay. Tony Khan has genuinely changed my life. In return, I am going to deliver the best matches I can deliver.”

Ospreay signing with AEW was officially announced at Full Gear. However, he will continue to wrestle for NJPW as well, something he told SI.com was very important to him.  

“I still need to have some sort of involvement in New Japan, especially with my faction United Empire,” said Ospreay. “That is very important to me. I grew up in New Japan. I’m not ready to let it go.”

“And I’ve been everywhere, and that’s because I’m constantly trying to better myself. I have this idea in my mind that I’ll grow stagnant with time off. I want to keep pushing. That’s what I am going to do.”

Ospreay has had an incredible run of matches in 2023. He’s had eight matches rated five-stars or better by our own Dave Meltzer this year alone. Another 10 of his matches were rated four and three-quarter stars. 

Ospreay does not plan on slowing down now that he’s signed a new contract, however. The 30-year-old says he plans to “up it” in 2024. 

“Wrestling is a weird meditation,” said Ospreay. “I don’t believe my own hype, but I’m also confident I can tear it up with anybody right now. Everything I’ve done so far, I’ve built on my own back. That’s the way I’ve grown up and matured in this wild business, and that’s why I am very confident.

‘What I did in 2023, I am going to up it in 2024’