AEW boss Tony Khan had promised a lot, but this revelation does justice to the big words.
At the Full Gear Pay Per View in Los Angeles, the WWE competitor fulfilled the previously announced commitment of “one of the best wrestlers in the world.” And the name behind it is, for many fans and experts, the best of all time: it is Will Ospreay, who decided to go to AEW instead of WWE after his contract with the Japanese league NJPW expired. (NEWS: All the news about AEW)
One day after the much-discussed surprise appearance of martial arts superstar Ronda Rousey, AEW continues its current personnel offensive: in recent weeks, the league featured Japanese star Kota Ibushi and top talent Mariah May is firmly in place. engaged.
Will Ospreay joins AEW
The 30-year-old British Ospreay is no stranger to AEW: as part of the cooperation with NJPW, he has already made several important appearances for the league. As a protégé of the archvillain Don Callis, the “Aerial Assassin” was part of his feud with Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega – with whom Ospreay already had two classics in NJPW and AEW, well at the top of several rankings of the best. wrestling matches in history.
Ospreay has already established itself as a global independent phenomenon over the last decade with its innovative style of showbiz. As late as 2018, he shed the reputation some fans gave him as a low-substance “spot monkey” when he moved to NJPW’s heavyweight division and proved himself to be a well-rounded wrestler who masters all styles.
Ospreay, who was born in London, is now No. 1 on the list of wrestlers who received five or more stars for a match according to critic Dave Meltzer (Wrestling Observer): Ospreay earned himself thanks to his duels with experts such as Shingo Takagi and Zack Saber Jr. and Japanese superstar Kazuchika Okada, now 32, the price of this achievement is that Ospreay’s body is already severely damaged from physically intense fighting at a young age, as he himself has admitted several times.
Ospreay also opened the door to WWE
Ospreay has lived in Japan for the past few years, but had announced months ago that he would be moving to the US and reorienting himself there after his contract with NJPW ended in January.
The British also opened the door to WWE; Whether he seriously considered the option or simply for negotiation reasons is his secret. In recent days, rumors have been growing that Ospreay would be the new signing announced by AEW.
It was probably no coincidence that it was leaked at the same time that WWE now had a greater interest in getting rid of NJPW partner Okada, who was operating at the same level, and thus also taking him out of the game for AEW – Meltzer reported this on Friday in his last Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Ospreay against Omega 3 in All In at Wembley?
No matter how realistic the scenario, Ospreay was first officially introduced in Los Angeles by AEW commentator Tony Schiavone.
The new addition announced that it would still fulfill its contractual obligations to NJPW, and the promotion’s annual highlight is approaching on January 4, 2024: at Wrestle Kingdom in the venerable Tokyo Dome, Ospreay will defend its IWGP US title. United Kingdom against the new AEW – His colleagues Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose in WWE) and the promising Dave Finlay, son of the legend Fit Finlay.
“After that, I only belong to you,” Ospreay explained to the cheering fans and, above all, he underlined his excitement for the second edition of the All In mega-event at London’s Wembley Stadium next summer. In last year’s premiere he defeated his idol Chris Jericho, and the third edition of the series of big fights with Omega is already close for the second edition on August 25.
AEW Full Gear 2023 – more news and highlights:
The focus of the show once again became the central and most successful story currently in AEW, the story about the male friendship between World Champion MJF and injured friend Adam Cole.
MJF made his first appearance on the free opening show of the Pay Per View and defended the tag team titles of AEW’s sister league, ROH, which he actually held with Cole, against Austin and Colten Gunn. Samoa Joe, who was actually an enemy of MJF, made himself available as a replacement partner, in exchange for another world title match.
After the match, the Gunns attacked MJF in order to weaken him for the PPV’s main match against his ally Jay White, with MJF eventually even taking him away in an ambulance.
Cole, who was on crutches, embarked on a suicide mission and agreed to defend the title in MJF’s place. Before that could happen, MJF returned to the arena in a dramatic appearance behind the wheel of the ambulance and competed himself.
At the end of a chaotic match, he defended the title with dirty means by knocking out White with his “Dynamite Diamond Ring.”
Meanwhile, the league’s two women’s titles found new owners: “Timeless” Toni Storm, reinvented as a crazy movie diva, regained the women’s world title from Hikaru Shida, up-and-coming Julia Hart won the TBS title in three Two-way fight with the previous starter Kris Statlander and the also very young Skye Blue.
Ricky Starks and Big Bill retained the tag team titles in a ladder match against several challengers; The “Dream Team” of Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega positioned themselves as the new top challengers in the co-main event with a victory against the Young Bucks.
From the beginning, the legend Sting completed one of the last matches of his career: together with Adam Copeland and his student Darby Allin – and encouraged by his old friend Ric Flair – he defeated Christian Cage, Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne and then left the fans in his long-time adopted home, Celebrate California.
Definitely, the toughest match of the night was fought between arch-enemies Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland, who brutally abused each other in a “Texas Death Match” with barbed wire, a stapler, broken glass and even a brick.
Strickland, who had a successful start in AEW after leaving WWE two years ago, ended up celebrating his biggest victory to date there, although with the help of his allies Brian Cage and Prince Nana: the two saved the “mogul” from the imminent knockout several times and allowed him to strangle former world champion Page unconscious with an iron chain.