The Aerial Assassin is AEW bound. This past November at AEW Full Gear, Will Ospreay put pen to paper with All Elite Wrestling, signing his first full-time contract with a western promotion. A world-renowned star, Ospreay made a name for himself across the United Kingdom’s independent circuit and New Japan Pro Wrestling, accumulating prestigious accolades like the British Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP World Heavyweight Title in the process. AEW’s admiration for Ospreay’s talents had been emphasized for years, as AEW President Tony Khan first approached the United Empire frontman with feelers prior to the launch of AEW Dynamite. Ospreay ultimately opted to continue with New Japan, as at the time he had much left to accomplish in the Far East.
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After eight total years in the land of the rising sun, Ospreay made his intentions to head west clear, and AEW made advanced efforts to ensure he ended up on its books. AEW signed Ospreay over three months before he was set to officially hit free agency thanks to a blessing from NJPW, a company that AEW has a working relationship with. As Ospreay emphasized upon signing his contract, he would not start his full-time AEW run until after he had wrapped up his New Japan commitments and his independent dates.
Will Ospreay Finishes Independents, Heading to AEW
Billy GOAT’s next destination is AEW Revolution.
Will Ospreay wrapped up his independent dates this past weekend, wrestling British Heavyweight Champion Michael Oku at RevPro High Stakes. After over 40 minutes of hard-hitting action, Oku submitted Ospreay to retain his title.
After the match, Ospreay thanked his home country crowd before directing his attention to AEW President Tony Khan, who was in attendance.
“Boss, while I’ve got you here, this is genuine and from the bottom of my f–king heart,” Ospreay said to Khan. “For eight years, I have saved money and saved money. You have honestly changed my f–king life my man.”
Ospreay has spoken highly of Khan over the past five years, praising the promoter’s dedication to crafting and alternative and his efforts to doing right by Ospreay’s character.
“I promise you this now: if you thought the eight years that I spent in Japan were the best years of my life, you ain’t seen f–king nothing yet,” Ospreay continued. “I wasn’t a guy that started with AEW. I didn’t jump onboard the ship when it was hot property. Now, I am committed. I am committed to you and all these fans that wanted an alternative. I am committed to getting us to the promised land and continuing this amazing stream.”
Ospreay’s first match as a member of the AEW roster comes on Sunday, March 3rd at AEW Revolution.
