Will Ospreay Says AEW’s Offer Was ‘Way Better’ Than WWE’s, ‘I Respect Everyone There, It’s Not For Me’

Will Ospreay discusses his decision to sign with AEW. 

At AEW Full Gear, Will Ospreay announced that he would be joining AEW on a full-time basis after he finished his NJPW commitments in February. Ospreay was set to become one of the top free agents on the market, and did have talks with other promotions before signing with AEW. 

Speaking to Chris Jericho on Talk Is Jericho, Ospreay was asked why he decided to join AEW. 

“Main thing was, I wanted to be in the UK. I know I’m not going to be exactly comfortable moving to another country. I moved to Japan in 2019, as much as I loved it, it wasn’t home. I entered a new relationship with my new Mrs. who wrestles under the name Alex Windsor, I have a stepson now, she just started school. If you know her story and everything she’s been through, the UK scene kind of knows it, but she lost her husband, and having to pick herself up from that and having to be a mom, a single mom, to losing her husband, it’s going to have some tolls on you, so she needs to be around family and friends in her social circle. I couldn’t bear the thought of moving her away from all of that and having her own on her own again. For me, the main priority was to stay in the UK, but also wanting to up the wrestling because I had done everything in New Japan. I completed it. The viable option was where was I happy and what was I doing? Every time I came (to AEW), Tony [Tony Khan] has given me nothing but trust and respect the moment I came in here. It was the right decision for me at this time. I’m happy here and looking forward to the challenges. It’s the right decision,” said Ospreay. 

Asked if he talked to WWE, Ospreay replied, “Yeah, of course, but it was night and day. Even in differences of what they were offering and what AEW was offering, AEW was way better. The scheduling, everything about AEW was completely the right option for me. It was always, you can go be a superstar in WWE and famous, but it’s not as good of pay and it’s not as kind of a schedule. I respect everyone there doing it, but it’s not for me.”

Ospreay wrestled his first match while on an AEW contract at AEW Revolution, defeating Konosuke Takeshita. 

He is set to face Bryan Danielson at AEW Dynasty. 

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