AEW: CM Punk Pokes Fun at Will Ospreay Changing One of New Japan's Championships

AEW's CM Punk poked fun at Will Ospreay unveiling the IWGP United Kingdom Championship.

By Connor Casey

Will Ospreay came up short in the G1 Climax tournament this week, failing to beat Kazuchika Okada in the semifinals. However, Ospreay still managed to make headlines as he announced on Saturday that he was rebranding the IWGP United States Championship as the IWGP United Kingdom Championship, pointing out how he has no connection to the US and changed to title to represent his home country. He unveiled a new version of the title in the process — one featuring the UK's flag on the front. 

CM Punk, fresh off declaring himself the "Real" Worlds Champion and spraypainting an "X" across the AEW World Championship belt he never lost, decided to have some fun with the announcement. He commented on his Instagram story by posting a photo of Ospreay with the UK title and writing, "Bruv, very disrespectful to just change the belt like this. You cannot just do things like this, this isn't a real belt now I hope [Antonio] Inoki fires you." Ospreay seemingly responded by posting a photo of himself with the new title and declaring himself "Best in the World." Online fans are hoping this is setting the stage for a Punk vs. Ospreay match down the line, something both men have discussed publicly in the past.

Related:

CM Punk Wanted a Match With Will Ospreay Years Ago

"I don't want to give people false hope in answering Ospreay," Punk told Digital Spy in an interview months before making his AEW debut. "But he's for sure somebody that I've never wrestled before that interests me a lot more than, I guess, the corporate side of professional wrestling nowadays. New and different things are going to interest me more than doing the same old, same old. I always need new goals."

As for AEW's upcoming All In pay-per-view, Samoa Joe seems to have a singles match with Punk locked up after attacking him at the end of this week's AEW Collision. Ospreay has been rumored to be booked for the show for months, with the latest rumor being he'll face Chris Jericho.

AEW Dynamite Aug. 16, 2023 Card (Fight for the Fallen 2023 Night One)

  • AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy vs. Wheeler Yuta
  • The Young Bucks vs. The Gunns
  • Jeff Jarrett vs. Jeff Hardy (Texas Chainsaw Massacre Deathmatch)
  • Darby Allin & Nick Wayne vs. The Gates of Agony
  • Dr. Britt Baker vs. The Bunny (AEW Women's World Championship Qualifier)
  • The Acclaimed vs. TBA

AEW All In 2023 Card

  • AEW World Championship: MJF (c) vs. Adam Cole
  • AEW World Tag Team Championships: FTR (c) vs. The Young Bucks
  • AEW Women's World Championship: Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Toni Storm vs. Saraya vs. Britt Baker/The Bunny
  • Darby Allin & Sting vs. Swerve Strickland & AR Fox (Coffin Match)
  • Kenny Omega vs. TBA
  • Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk (Not Yet Confirmed)
  • Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay (Rumored)
  • (Zero Hour Kickoff) ROH World Tag Team Championships: vs. Aussie Open (c) vs. MJF and Adam Cole

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