Will Ospreay announced himself in the United States in his match against Konosuke Takeshita at AEW Revolution 2024.
The “Aerial Assassin” had wrestled select matches for the promotion in the past. However, this bout signalled the start of his full-time career in with All Elite Wrestling.
It came 12 years after he made his debut in wrestling. His journey took him from the independent shows in the United Kingdom, all the way to Japan before finally landing in AEW.
Ospreay won titles across the United Kingdom
Ospreay first learnt to wrestle at Lucha Britannia’s London School of Lucha Libre. After first trying his hand at backyard wrestling, the youngster learned to wrestle professionally in the school in London.
He debuted at BritWres-Fest on 1 April 2012. Ospreay quickly found himself as a regular feature for two of the UK’s biggest promotions. He wrestled for both Progress Wrestling and Revolution Pro Wrestling (more commonly known as “RevPro”), for over a decade.
The Essex-born star wowed the fans with his high-risk, high-flying style, and became the Progress world champion for the first time in 2015, defeating Jimmy Havoc at the “Chapter 20” show. He was only 22 at the time, showing how much of a prodigy he was inside the ring.
Ospreay won multiple Championships in RevPro, including the British Cruiserweight Championship twice and the Undisputed British heavyweight title.
He became world champion at RevPro High Stakes 2020, where he defeated Zack Sabre Jr in a match rated five stars by the Wrestling Observer.
Ospreay also had bouts against stars like AJ Styles, Vader and Kazuchika Okada in the UK, the latter of which earned him his spot in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
He joined New Japan and became a star of the Junior Heavyweight Division
Ospreay wrestled Okada at the Global Wars 2015 show, which prompted “The Rainmaker” to recommend New Japan bring the young Englishman in to the company.
The high-flyer signed for the company for a match against KUSHIDA at Invasion Attack 2016, while also being included as the newest member of Okada’s CHAOS faction in the company.
This was the first time he wrestled for such a large company, and his journey was documented by the company in a YouTube feature.
Ospreay impressed in his defeat to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. He quickly signed a long-term deal to continue in NJPW. “The Aerial Assassin” entered in to the 2016 Best of the Super Juniors Tournament soon after.
It was here that he had the infamous match with Ricochet, which divided opinion throughout the wrestling world. However, this did not stop Ospreay, as he went on to win the tournament, become the youngest ever BOSJ winner.
The Englishman went on to win three IWGP Junior Heavyweight championships during his time in Japan. He beat KUSHIDA, Marty Scurll and Dragon Lee to win the titles, solidifying himself as a top Junior Heavyweight in the promotion.
A move up to Heavyweight saw him leave CHAOS and become World Champion
Ospreay dropped the Junior Heavyweight title to Hiromu Takahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 14, having already entered the G1 Climax the previous year.
This loss sparked his decision to move up to the Heavyweight division permanently. He accomplished all he could in the lower weight class.
He left CHAOS during the 2020 G1 Climax, turning on Okada with the help of Great-O-Khan. Ospreay formed his own stable, named “United Empire”, recruiting the likes of Jeff Cobb and Aussie Open to its ranks.
Ospreay became a top heel in the company for the first time, and his new faction helped him win the New Japan Cup the following year.
The new United Empre leader subsequently challenged IWGP World Heavyweight champion Kota Ibushi for the title at Sakura Genesis 2021. He was successful in the match, becoming the first ever British holder of the title.
Sadly, an injury in his first title defence, against Shingo Takagi, put him out of action for months. This neck injury forced him to vacate the belt, although he refused to acknowledge he was no longer champion.
Ospreay fought against Okada in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 16, where he lost to his former CHAOS teammate to lose his first and only World Championship in Japan.
His other accomplishments in New Japan include winning the NEVER Openweight Championship and the IWGP United States Championship, although he had it renamed to the United Kingdom Championship.
Ospreay’s matches in Japan were among the best in the world, and he broke the record for the amount of five-star matches awarded by the Wrestling Observer.
In 2023, AEW signed Will Ospreay to a full-time deal
Following his fantastic performances in Japan, Ospreay was courted by both WWE and AEW once his deal expired in 2024.
TNA also registered their interest, but Ospreay signed for AEW in late 2023. The company announced he had signed at Full Gear 2023, months before his NJPW deal ended the year after.
Ospreay had previously wrestled for AEW on odd occasions in the year prior. This included matches against Orange Cassidy and Kenny Omega at back-to-back Forbidden Door shows.
He was also one of the stars of All In, which was AEW’s Wembley Stadium show in England. He wrestled Chris Jericho in a match fans had dreamt of for years, defeating the former WWE Champion.
Ospreay made his debut as a full-time wrestler for AEW at Revolution 2024. He was previously aligned with Don Callis on AEW TV, and faced off against another one of his clients in Konosuke Takeshita at the show.
Ospreay picked up the victory at the show, putting on a fantastic match. He showed AEW fans just how exciting a wrestler the company has just signed.
