To many, Will Ospreay is the best wrestler in the world right now. The current IWGP United Kingdom Champion (still recognized as the IWGP United States Championship by NJPW) has put in a career year in 2023. Through ten months, Ospreay has co-headlined NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, defeated Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada, and competed in front of a record-setting Wembley Stadium crowd at AEW ALL IN: London. While those critically-acclaimed moments are happening, Ospreay is still putting work in on the independent circuit, because as he told ComicBook.com’s Liam Crowley in June, that “best in the world” monicker is only validated if “you test yourself in every company’s position.”
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Will Ospreay Discusses His Impact Wrestling Return
The Aerial Assassin is looking to apply that mindset to Impact Wrestling.
This Saturday, Will Ospreay wrestles his first match for Impact Wrestling in seven years. Ospreay made a handful of freelance appearances for the then-TNA in 2016.
“It just wasn’t enjoyable. It was a little bit of a weird atmosphere backstage for me personally, but there’s no need to harken back on it. We’ve both grown and matured,” Ospreay told ComicBook.com. “I’ll just happily hold that grudge for the rest of my life (laughs). No, it wasn’t the best time for me. I guess there was lack of communication between the power that be. I was going to New Japan, they didn’t think I had anything. It is what it is. I’m happy for Impact now. It’s different office, different team and I’m generally looking forward to coming back.”
While the current landscape of Impact Wrestling is a bit of unfamiliar territory for Ospreay, his upcoming opponent is far from that. Ospreay is set to take on “Speedball” Mike Bailey at Impact Wrestling: Bound For Glory in what will be their fifth singles encounter.
“He hasn’t fully discovered all his little special powers yet,” Ospreay said of Bailey. “In this game, you keep playing and you add these extra skill points and powers to your character. He hasn’t done that yet but he’s this good now. The more that he wrestles, the more that he changes, the more he adapts, the more he improves.”
Unlike some of his high-profile contests from earlier this year, Ospreay noted that he feels he’s entering a “level playing field” against Bailey.
“I think this is why I’m very fascinated about this match more than the Kenny [Omega] match and the [Chris] Jericho match is because I was chasing in that situation,” Ospreay continued. “For the first time, I’m not chasing in these big match scenarios. We’re, I think, on a level playing field. We’re both entering our prime. I want to see which one of us has learned more and which one of us is willing to go the extra mile.”
Ospreay faces Bailey this Saturday, October 21st at Impact Wrestling: Bound For Glory, streaming live on FITE TV.
