Will Ospreay wants revenge, as he suffered a crushing loss in his previous match against Kenny Omega.
Ospreay will challenge IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega for the gold at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. This bout will mark a rematch of their clash at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, where Omega emerged victorious.
Speaking with NJPW’s website, Ospreay was asked to share his mindset ahead of the rematch, and he made it clear that he wants revenge. He noted that an NJPW legend told him to remind Omega what NJPW is all about ahead of the first match.
“Revenge, man. People don’t understand, but there was so much pressure put on me at the Tokyo Dome,” Ospreay said. “Like, I won’t say the name of the NJPW legend that I walked past, but before I went out there for the match, but he said ‘remind him what New Japan is all about’. That pressure was put on me, that responsibility was put on me to fly the flag.”
The former champion also stated that he was so concerned with fighting for NJPW that he may have lost himself in that mission. He also explained that he might have been overwhelmed by the crowd, as the show marked the first time fans could fully cheer again.
“I feel [the home promotion advantage] was a disadvantage because I maybe tried to… Maybe I was so concerned with fighting the battle for New Japan that I forgot why I was fighting in the first place,” Ospreay said. “It was hard, because I obviously wanted to do it for me, but it was the first time I was wrestling with full cheering back, and that maybe overwhelmed me a little bit… and it was just one of those things where I knew what it was going to take to put Kenny away, I really did, but it was just the moment- I just didn’t have my legs underneath me after my head bounced off the turnbuckle.”
Ospreay went on to admit that he felt like he let his side down, as he had a responsibility but he fell short. He also noted that he wants to make Omega feel the same way he felt following his loss at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17.
“I was fighting with everything I had, but I knew I was done,” Ospreay said. “That’s heartbreaking, because I kept fighting, I kept trying, but I really felt I’d let my side down. I had a responsibility, but I fell at the hurdle, and even though everyone said that the match was incredible, that doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me was that my family were at home watching that match. My mum had to turn it off halfway through because she knew it was done, my missus, and like, the kid’s asking how the match went, but I can’t tell him. I can’t show him what happened.
“When I came home I had a scar here and there from the table because he was mashing my head through a table. So what do you think my mindset’s going to be? I just need revenge, man. I just want… I want to make him feel the same things he made me feel. The Tokyo Dome was fully behind me, because they saw everything that I sacrificed during the pandemic. I want him to feel the same thing, so I have to do it on (his) home territory. I’ve got to do it at Forbidden Door. I’ve got to do it in Toronto, I’ve got to do it in front of Canada.”
The video interview is available here.
WrestleZone will have full coverage of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door on June 25.
