A recently signed AEW star opened up on leaving his previous promotion and said he never expected to actually leave the company after eight years there.
The AEW star in question is Will Ospreay. Although the 30-year-old signed a full-time contract with Tony Khan's promotion at the Full Gear 2023 pay-per-view, he was still under contract with New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He is set to wrestle his last match in the promotion at the NJPW New Beginning in Osaka. Ospreay will compete in a 5-on-5 steel cage match against Bullet Club War Dogs before officially joining the All Elite roster.
Prior to his departure, The Aerial Assassin disclosed that he never thought he would leave NJPW after eight years while speaking at the press conference before The New Beginning event:
“This has been the greatest eight years of my life. I cannot express to you all how thankful I am that I got to grow up in Japan. I am so thankful that I’ve got to become a man in front of all of you guys."
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
He added:
"I never thought that this day was ever going to come I could have sworn that I was going to be here for the rest of my life and I would have had no problem with that. As tradition would normally go, I would normally be in a single match or do something traditional, but I mean, let’s be real. Look at the five of us, there’s nothing traditional about us." [H/T Ringside News]
AEW star Will Ospreay sends a message to his opponents
As mentioned earlier, the newly signed AEW star, Will Ospreay, will wrestle his last match in NJPW at The New Beginning event.
It will be a steel cage match between the United Empire and Bullet Club War Dogs. Ospreay sent a message to the War Dogs ahead of the big match:
"When you needed the best professional wrestlers that New Japan has to offer, we stepped up and those posers back there benefited off of our backbreaking work. I refuse to let some five slobs that are trying to live up to the name Bullet Club try and take this night away from me.” [H/T Ringside News]
Fans have been anticipating the AEW arrival of Will Ospreay ever since he signed the contract. Only time will tell what Tony Khan has in store for him.
Are you excited to see Will Ospreay being All Elite full-time? Sound off on the comments below.