Will Ospreay | |
---|---|
Birth name | William Peter Charles Ospreay |
Born | London, England | 7 May 1993
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Jason Artem Dark Britannico Neo Britannico Will Ospreay |
Billed height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] |
Billed weight | 105 kg (231 lb)[1] |
Billed from | Essex, England[2] |
Trained by | Lucha Britannia |
Debut | 1 April 2012 |
William Peter Charles Ospreay (born 7 May 1993) is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where, in NJPW, he is the leader of the United Empire stable.
Ospreay previously wrestled for NJPW's United Kingdom based partner promotion Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro), where he is a former and longest reigning Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion. He also wrestled for another British promotion - Progress Wrestling - where he is a former Progress World Champion.
Ospreay began his career in United Kingdom in 2011 on the UK independent circuit. In 2016, after being recommended by AJ Styles, he began to work with Japanese promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling as part of the junior heavyweight division, becoming a three-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and the winner of the 2016 and 2019 Best of the Super Juniors. In 2019, Ospreay also won the NEVER Openweight Championship. That same year, Ospreay participated in the G1 Climax, NJPW biggest tournament featuring heavyweight wrestlers. In 2020, he made his transition to the heavyweight division, where he won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. He is also the winner of 2021 New Japan Cup. Ospreay is former two-time and the final IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion as the title was deactivated in December 2023, when Ospreay was in his second reign.
Ospreay has also periodically ventured into the American wrestling circuit; he has appeared in NJPW partner promotions All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Impact Wrestling (formerly known as TNA) and Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Television Champion, as well as independent promotions like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG).
Ospreay holds the record for the most 5 or more stars matches given by wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer with a total of 32 matches.
Early life
William Peter Charles Ospreay[3] was born in London's Havering borough on 7 May 1993.[4] He decided to become a wrestler after watching the three-way match between AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, and Samoa Joe at TNA's 2005 Unbreakable event.[5] Ospreay, alongside friend Kip Sabian, would engage in backyard wrestling[6] before Ospreay received formal professional wrestling training at Lucha Britannia's London School of Lucha Libre in Bethnal Green.[5]
Professional wrestling career
Early career (2012)
Ospreay made his professional debut at the co-promoted BritWres-Fest on 1 April 2012 as the masked character Dark Britannico,[7] the evil twin of Leon Britannico who was played by Paul Robinson, Ospreay's future tag team partner in the team The Swords of Essex.[8] While wrestling with Lucha Britannia he twice won the Lucha Britannia World Championship.
Progress Wrestling (2012–2019)
Ospreay soon became a regular for Progress Wrestling, debuting for them at Chapter Two: The March of Progress with Alex Esmail in a loss to The London Riots (James Davis and Rob Lynch). His performance earned him a place in the Natural Progression Series I tournament, aimed at scouting and showcasing new wrestlers. He lost in the first round to eventual winner Mark Andrews in November and again in a rematch the following May. Andrews who, as part of his reward for winning, picked Ospreay to enter the following Natural Progression Series tournament. The two met again in January 2014 in the first round of the Progress Tag Team Championship tournament, with FSU (Andrews' team with Eddie Dennis) defeating The Swords of Essex (Ospreay's team with Paul Robinson).
In his Natural Progression Series II opening match, his opponent Zack Gibson tried to win by holding the ropes. Robinson prevented Gibson using the ropes, which in turn distracted the referee for long enough for Gibson to low-blow Ospreay and make Ospreay submit.[9] On 18 May, The Swords of Essex were one of the final two teams standing in a four-team elimination match to decide contenders to the Progress Tag Team Championship. During the match, Ospreay, having been isolated for some time, reached out to tag his partner but Robinson jumped off the apron and walked out on Ospreay. Ospreay was left on his own and lost the match, after which the Progress Champion Jimmy Havoc came to the ring and ordered London Riots to tie Ospreay. Havoc pulled out a knife and threatened to torture Ospreay, blaming it on Ospreay's popularity with the fans, before other wrestlers came out and intervened, freeing Ospreay.[10] Havoc and The London Riots formed an allegiance known as Regression, which also featured Robinson.
On 27 July, Ospreay entered the eight-man, staggered entry elimination Thunderbastard match, the winner of whom can pick a time for a Progress Championship match. Ospreay entered the match third and was immediately low-blowed by Robinson, who had already entered, who disqualified himself in the hopes of taking out Ospreay. Ospreay recovered and eventually eliminated Marty Scurll last to win Thunderbastard.[11] The following show saw Ospreay team up with FSU and Noam Dar in an eight-man tag team match with FSU and Havoc's respective titles, Ospreay's title contendership and everyone else's Progress contracts at stake, depending which individual lost. During the match, Ospreay moonsaulted from the Electric Ballroom's balcony onto his opponents, on the floor.[8] Later, he had Havoc in position to be pinned but as he jumped from the top rope, Robinson dragged Havoc outside, leading Ospreay to pin Davis and end the London Riots' contract with Progress.[12]
At the next event, Ospreay defeated Robinson and announced he would invoke his Thunderbastard right to challenge for Havoc's championship at the following show. He lost the championship match in January after Havoc loosened the top rope, making it more difficult for Ospreay to do high-flying moves, and used it as a weapon.[13] During the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, Ospreay defeated El Ligero, Mark Haskins, Roderick Strong and Zack Sabre, Jr across two days to win the first Super Strong Style 16 tournament and once again lay claim to Havoc's championship.[14] Their rematch took place on 26 July in a no disqualification match where the reinstated London Riots neutralised the threat of Robinson's interference and Ospreay ended Havoc's 609 day reign to become Progress Champion.[15]
Ospreay successfully defended his title against the 2015 Thunderbastard Haskins and then Robinson. Robinson attacked Ospreay after losing to him, but Ospreay was saved by a returning Mark Andrews. Ospreay went on to finally beat Andrews to defend his title. Ospreay also headlined Progress' first main show outside of London in Manchester, in a triple threat match against Zack Gibson and Morgan Webster to close out 2015.
He lost the championship on 24 January 2016 to Marty Scurll when the referee stopped the match as Ospreay had passed out while being handcuffed in Scurll's chickenwing submission. Ospreay lost a rematch with Scurll at WrestleCon Supershow in Texas, USA in April and also lost a contendership match against Haskins on 31 July. He spent the rest of the year in showcase matches against non-regular Progress wrestlers, losing to Zack Sabre Jr., Shane Strickland, Matt Riddle and Adam Cole. Finally on 30 December, at a card composed exclusively of unannounced matches, Ospreay lost to Havoc. After the match Havoc invited Ospreay to join him in his fight against British Strong Style, who held the World and Tag Team Championship. Ospreay instead attacked Havoc and then realigned with Swords of Essex partner Paul Robinson. Ospreay attacked Havoc again, during the latter's Progress World Championship match leading to a Fans Bring The Weapons match in March. During the match, Ospreay challenged Havoc to put their Progress contracts at stake before losing the match and leaving the promotion.
Ospreay returned at the last event of 2017 as a mystery opponent for Progress Champion Travis Banks, however he lost the match.[16] On chapter 61, Ospreay defeated Adam Brooks, this was his first victory in the promotion since losing the Progress Championship in 2016.[17] At Progress Chapter 66, Ospreay defeated Mark Haskins.
On 7 May 2018, day 3 of the 2018 Super Strong Style 16 tournament, Ospreay challenged Jimmy Havoc to a match at Wembley Arena on 30 September 2018, but was forced to withdraw due to contractual obligations with New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The match was then set for Chapter 75, with Ospreay emerging victorious in a no disqualification, 2 out of 3 falls match with former tag team partner Paul Robinson as referee. At Chapter 82: Unboxing Live, Ospreay and Paul Robinson defeated Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) to become the Progress Tag Team Champions.
On 17 May 2023, it would be announced that Ospreay would return to Progress as part of the 2023 Super Strong Style 16 tournament.[18] Ospreay's first match back would be against Tate Mayfairs, which he would win. His second match would be against Nathan Cruz, where he would lose by DQ and thus be eliminated from the tournament but reforming the Swords of Essex when his former tag partner Paul Robinson would come out to give his support.[19] On Day 3, although being eliminated from the tournament, The Swords of Essex would be assisted by Callum Newman to take on CPF in a tag match in a winning effort. It is currently unknown what Ospreay's plans with Progress Wrestling are after this event.
United Kingdom independent circuit (2012–2017)
Ospreay has regularly wrestled for International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom (IPW: UK) since September 2012 in singles matches, with Robinson as Swords of Essex and with Tom Dawkins as Spitfire Britannia, playing off their alter egos Pure Britannico and Neo Britannico for Lucha Britannia. Ospreay made it through to the final of the UK Super 8 tournament in both 2014 and 2015, losing to Zack Sabre, Jr and Rampage Brown respectively. He won the 30-man Battle Royale 2014 in April but failed to win it the following year when the All England Championship was on the line. On 28 March 2016, Ospreay lost a Loser Leaves Town match to his former Spitfire Britannia partner Dawkins.
The Swords of Essex began wrestling for Future Pro Wrestling (FPW) in May 2013 and after a series of wins became the first FPW Tag Team Champions after winning a four-way match. They held the titles for nine months and eventually became embroiled in a Best of Four match series against both The London Riots and The Alpha Males (Iestyn Rees & Charlie Garrett) for the FPW Tag Team Championship. The Swords of Essex failed to win a match in the series, with Ospreay wrestling the final match, which also had the London Riots' IPW:UK and New Generation Wrestling Tag Team Championship on the line, without Robinson. Ospreay has been unable to replicate similar success as a singles wrestler, twice entering the Zero G tournament but failing to win.
Ospreay also became a regular for Southside Wrestling Entertainment (SWE) from March 2014 onwards. After failing to win the Speed King Championship from Kay Lee Ray in a co-promoted show with Combat Zone Wrestling in October, he won it a fortnight later in a Six-Way Elimination match. He defended it over the following months to many SWE and guest wrestlers, eventually putting it on the line in the annual Speed King Tournament where he beat Mark Andrews in the semi-final in a Best of Three falls match but lost the title to El Ligero in a Six-Way Elimination match on 30 May 2015. The following March he unsuccessfully challenged Joseph Connors for the SWE Heavyweight Championship but on 7 August won the Speed King championship for the second time from Andrew Everett.
On 27 August 2016 Ospreay posted a Facebook live video unveiling a new British Triangle Championship with his three Swords of Essex partners Paul Robinson, Jerry Sevanchez, and Scott Wainwright. They announced that the trios championships were not specific to any promotion and could therefore be defended anywhere.[20]
Ospreay wrestled a series of shows across 2016 for What Culture Pro Wrestling for both their weekly YouTube broadcast and iPPV shows, scoring wins over Noam Dar, Marty Scurll and feud with Martin Kirby.[21] On WCPW Loaded #15 Ospreay defeated Martin Kirby with help from Adam Pacitti, Paul Robinson & Scott Wainwright, joining the Pacitti Club. At WCPW True Destiny, Ospreay teamed with Scotty Wainwright and defeated El Ligero & Gabriel Kidd and Johnny Moss & Liam Slater and Prospect (Alex Gracie & Lucas Archer) in a four-way ladder match to become WCPW Tag Team Champions. They lost the title to War Machine on an episode of Loaded. In August 2017, Ospreay made it to the finals of the Pro Wrestling World Cup, before losing to Kushida.[22]
On 4 January 2017, Ospreay, along with fellow British wrestler Ryan Smile, started their own promotion, known as Lucha Forever,[23] with their first show, The Dawning of Forever, taking place on 17 April in Birmingham.[24]
Revolution Pro Wrestling (2013–present)
Ospreay debuted for Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) on 10 February 2013 with a win over Mike Hitchman. He soon started appearing in tag matches with Paul Robinson as The Swords of Essex and, after earning contendership with a win over The London Riots, won the British Tag Team Championship on 15 June 2013 during RevPro's first show at York Hall by defeating Project Ego (Kris Travis and Martin Kirby). After losing to Ricochet in a singles match, The Swords of Essex lost their British Tag Team Championship to Ricochet and his partner Rich Swann, The Inner City Machine Gun on 15 March 2014.
On 19 October, Ospreay beat Josh Bodom for the British Cruiserweight Championship in a match that also included Swann. The day before, he had lost a match to Matt Sydal and so in May 2015 the two had a rematch. Although Ospreay won the rematch, with their series at 1–1 the two were booked in a Best of Three Falls match with the British Cruiserweight Championship on the line. After losing the first fall, he retained the title with two straight falls. After an eleven-month reign, with a number of title defences, Ospreay lost the title back to Bodom on 5 September 2015.
Ospreay bounced back with wins over P. J. Black, René Duprée, and Ricochet, which put him in line for a three-way match for AJ Styles' British Heavyweight Championship, which also featured Marty Scurll, where the champion retained. The following day, on 3 October 2015 he lost to New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Kazuchika Okada. Okada, impressed with Ospreay, went on to recommend him to NJPW officials. This, along with endorsements from AJ Styles and Hiroshi Tanahashi, eventually led to Ospreay being signed by NJPW.[25] In 2016 Ospreay beat Scurll and the new Cruiserweight Champion Pete Dunne in a non-title triple threat match, as well as beating Mike Bailey, which saw him earn a Cruiserweight Championship match against Dunne on 10 July which he won. The following month Ospreay headlined York Hall in a match against Vader. The feud began after Vader had criticised an NJPW Best of the Super Juniors match between Ospreay and Ricochet in May, comparing the match to "a gymnastics routine".[26] The debate escalated over Twitter, with many wrestling journalists and veterans weighing in on the debate.[27] Their match eventually took place on 12 August, with Ospreay losing to Vader after Dunne interfered while the referee was distracted. On 13 April 2017, Ospreay lost the British Cruiserweight Championship to interim champion Josh Bodom.[28] Following a non-title contest against Zack Sabre Jr at 'Monday Night Mayhem' in Portsmouth in which Ospreay won, on 10 November 2017 at Global Wars, Ospreay failed to win the Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship from Zack Sabre Jr.[29] At High Stakes on 14 February 2020, Ospreay defeated Sabre Jr. to win the Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship.[30]
Following RevPro events being hindered due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Ospreay made his first title defence on 4 October at RevPro Epic Encounters 3, defeating Kyle Fletcher.[31] On 15 November 2020, Ospreay made another defence, defeating Ricky Knight Jr. at RevPro Epic Encounters 5.[32] The following year at RevPro's Ninth Anniversary on 21 August 2021, Ospreay defended his title against Doug Williams.[33] A month later, Ospreay once again defeated Knight Jr a title vs title match to unify Ospreay's Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship and Knight Jr's British Heavyweight Championship.[34] Ospreay made his final title defence of the year, defeating Shota Umino at RevPro Uprising 2021.[35]
Ospreay made his first title defence of 2022, defeating Michael Oku at RevPro High Stakes 2022, in a critically acclaimed match.[36] His next title defence was against Mike Bailey on night 1 of RevPro's 10th Anniversary show on 20 August. On Night 2 the following day, Ospreay lost the Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship to Ricky Knight Jr, ending his reign at 919 days with 7 successful title defences. The reign made Ospreay the longest reigning Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion in history.
Ospreay returned to RevPro, for the first time since losing his title at Revpro Uprising 2022 in December, defeating Tomohiro Ishii.[37] Ospreay made sporadic appearances for RevPro for the remainder of 2023, defeating the likes of Big Damo, Luke Jacobs and Eddie Dennis. Ospreay had a standout match on 9 July at RevPro Epic Encounter, defeating Leon Slater.[38] On 26 August, at RevPro 11th Anniversary Show, Ospreay defeated Shingo Takagi, ahead of his match against Chris Jericho at All Elite Wrestling's (AEW) All In at Wembley Stadium, leading to Jericho making an appearance at the show and attacking Ospreay.[39] At RevPro Uprising on 16 December, Ospreay defeated Gabe Kidd.[40] Following the match, Ospreay announced that ahead of his recent signing to AEW, 18 February 2024 would be his final RevPro event.[41]
Various international promotions (2016–2017)
On 29 January 2016, Ospreay made his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), during the promotion's tour of the United Kingdom. Ospreay unsuccessfully entered the 2016 Joker's Wild tournament and challenged for both the TNA King of the Mountain Championship and TNA World Tag Team Championship. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that TNA had plans to push Ospreay, but upon finding out that he had signed to appear for NJPW relegated him to a short match on their secondary television programme.[42]
On 1 April 2016, Ospreay made his debut for Evolve, losing to Zack Sabre Jr. at Evolve 58 and Ricochet at Evolve 59, both in Dallas, Texas, USA.[43][44] On 12 July, Paul Heyman, during a speaking tour of the United Kingdom, offered Ospreay an Evolve contract on behalf of Gabe Sapolsky while clarifying that the contract would not affect his NJPW deal.[45] On 20 July, Pro Wrestling Torch reported Ospreay had signed the contract to make Evolve his American home promotion,[46] but the Wrestling Observer Newsletter disputed this, reporting Ospreay did not sign and was still in talks with Evolve, PWG, TNA, and ROH, another American promotion who had a relationship with NJPW which Ospreay later confirmed.[47][48]
In August 2017, Ospreay made his debut appearance for Pro Wrestling Australia (PWA) at their Sydney event Call to Arms. Originally scheduled to face PWA Heavyweight Champion Robbie Eagles in a non-title match for the main event, Eagles made the last-minute decision to put his title on the line. Ospreay ultimately defeated Eagles and won the PWA Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Afterwards, Ospreay announced that he was moving to Australia and would begin working regularly for PWA and other local independent promotions. Ospreay stated that he felt he could help the Australian wrestling scene grow, while the U.K. scene did not need him.[49] Days later, Ospreay faced Adam Brooks in the main event of a Melbourne City Wrestling show, Ballroom Brawl; defeating him to win the MCW Intercommonwealth Championship.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2016–present)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion (2016–2018)
After the Global Wars UK event, where Ospreay faced Kazuchika Okada, New Japan wrestlers Hiroshi Tanahashi, AJ Styles and Okada recommended him to NJPW.[50] On 3 March 2016, Ospreay was announced as the newest member of the NJPW stable Chaos. Appearing in a video, Ospreay challenged Kushida to an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match at Invasion Attack 2016 on 10 April.[51] On 10 April, Ospreay failed in his title challenge against Kushida.[52] Following the match, it was reported that NJPW had offered Ospreay a contract to become a regular for the promotion.[53]
The following month, Ospreay entered the 2016 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. On 27 May, Ospreay faced Ricochet in the tournament in a match, which received widespread attention in the professional wrestling world. William Regal praised the match.[54] Vader, however, compared the match to a "gymnastics routine".[27][55] Ospreay won his block in the tournament with a record of four wins and three losses, advancing to the finals.[56] On 7 June, Ospreay defeated Ryusuke Taguchi in the finals to win the 2016 Best of the Super Juniors, becoming the youngest winner in the history of the tournament as well as the first English and the fifth gaijin wrestler to win tournament.[57] Following the win, Ospreay was granted another shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, but was again defeated by Kushida on 19 June at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall.[58]
On 20 July, Ospreay entered the 2016 Super J-Cup, defeating Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) representative Titán in his first round match.[59] On 21 August, he was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by Matt Sydal.[60] On 8 October, Ospreay received his first shot at the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship, but he and his Chaos stablemates Beretta and Rocky Romero were defeated by the defending champions, David Finlay, Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima.[61] On 11 February 2017 at The New Beginning in Osaka, Ospreay unsuccessfully challenged Katsuyori Shibata for the British Heavyweight Championship.[62] In May, Ospreay won his block in the 2017 Best of the Super Juniors tournament with a record of five wins and two losses, advancing to his second consecutive final.[63] On 3 June, Ospreay was defeated in the final by Kushida.[64]
On 9 October at King of Pro-Wrestling, Ospreay defeated Kushida to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time.[65] With the win, Ospreay became the first British IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.[66] He lost the title to Marty Scurll in his first defence on 5 November at Power Struggle.[67] Ospreay regained the title from Scurll on 4 January 2018 at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome in a four-way match, also involving Hiromu Takahashi and Kushida.[68] On 10 February, Ospreay retained the title against Hiromu Takahashi at The New Beginning in Osaka. On 1 April, Ospreay successfully retained the title against Marty Scurll at Sakura Genesis.[69] During the match, Ospreay was legitimately injured after his foot hit the rope mid-rotation after attempting a Spanish Fly off of the ring apron, causing him to land on his head on top of the apron and begin bleeding profusely from his scalp. At Wrestling Dontaku 2018 after successfully defending his title in a rematch against Kushida, he was attacked by the newest Bullet Club member, Taiji Ishimori.[70] He entered the 2018 Best of the Super Juniors, finishing the tournament with 5 wins and 2 losses, but didn't advance to the finals due to his loss against Ishimori on the first day of the tournament. Ospreay lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to the winner of the tournament, Hiromu Takahashi at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall on 9 June in his fourth defense.[71] At Fighting Spirit Unleashed, Ospreay entered a tournament to crown a new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, due to Takahashi getting a neck injury and forcing him to vacate the belt, and lost against Marty Scurll.
Transition to heavyweight (2018–2020)
At King of Pro-Wrestling (2018), Ospreay teamed with Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii in a winning effort against Suzuki-gun, represented by Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka and NEVER Openweight Champion Taichi. Ospreay pinned Taichi for the win.[72] After the match, Ospreay called out Taichi for a NEVER Openweight Championship match and doing so, hinting going to the Heavyweight division. The match was made official for Power Struggle (2018), however, it was announced on Twitter that the match had been cancelled due to Ospreay's injury. On the final day of World Tag League, Ospreay returned to New Japan, where he defeated Taichi. On the same night, he challenged the new NEVER Openweight Champion, Kota Ibushi, to a championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 13.
On 4 January, at Wrestle Kingdom 13, Will Ospreay defeated Kota Ibushi to capture the NEVER Openweight Championship.[73] He became the first Junior Heavyweight to hold the championship. He made his first title defense at RevPro New Year's Resolution, where he defeated Chris Brookes.[74] On 22 February, Ospreay successfully retained the title against Dalton Castle at Honor Rising: Japan 2018. At New Japan's Anniversary Show, he faced IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White in a losing effort.
Despite still being classified as a Junior Heavyweight, Ospreay entered the 2019 New Japan Cup, beating Bad Luck Fale and Lance Archer, before being eliminated by fellow Chaos member Kazuchika Okada. It was announced that Ospreay will face ROH Television Champion Jeff Cobb in a Winner takes all match at G1 Supercard. At the event, Ospreay lost the match, in the process losing his title to Cobb, who retained his title.
Ospreay participated in the 2019 edition of Best of the Super Juniors, where he won his block with a record of 7–2, advancing to the final. In the preliminary rounds, he suffered losses against long-time rivals Robbie Eagles and El Phantasmo. On 5 June Ospreay defeated Shingo Takagi to win the tournament for the second time, earning an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match at Dominion. The match between Ospreay and Shingo was awarded a 5.75 rating by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the highest rating for a wrestling match in 2019.[75] This was also the first match in which Shingo Takagi was pinned after his debut in NJPW. At Dominion, Ospreay defeated Dragon Lee and became IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the third time in his career. With this wrestling match being awarded 5 stars, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez suggested that Will Ospreay has reached a point in his career where he is a serious contender for being the best wrestler in the world.[76] After winning the title, Ospreay announced his intention to enter the G1 Climax 29 in his quest of bridging the gap between heavyweight and junior heavyweight wrestlers. Later that week, Ospreay was announced as a participant in the 2019 G1 Climax. Ospreay made his first IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship title defense against Robbie Eagles at Southern Showdown in Melbourne.
He started the G1 Climax campaign at G1 Climax in Dallas, where he was defeated by Lance Archer. He obtained his first win by defeating Sanada, but lost in the third round of the tournament against Kota Ibushi in a rematch from Wrestle Kingdom. Between the second and the thirds round, he suffered a legit injury that almost made him unable to participate further in the G1 Climax, but nevertheless, he managed to get cleared in a very short amount of time.[77] Afterwards, Ospreay faced the leader of Chaos, Kazuchika Okada in the main events of Night 7 of the G1 Climax, yet lost in another well-received match.[78]
On 4 January 2020, at Wrestle Kingdom 14, Ospreay lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Hiromu Takahashi.[79] He suffered an heel injury during the match, reportedly from landing on his feet when Takahashi dropped him from the top rope.[80]
United Empire (2020–present)
On 2 February at The New Beginning in Sapporo, Ospreay was unsuccessful at winning British Heavyweight Championship from Zack Sabre Jr.[81] On 4 February during the Road to New Beginning tour, Ospreay pinned Sabre Jr. in a tag team match between Chaos and Suzuki-gun. After the match, Ospreay challenged Sabre Jr. to another match for the title which was scheduled at RevPro's High Stakes event. At the event, Ospreay defeated Sabre Jr. to win the British Heavyweight Championship. After the match, Ospreay announced that he will be moving to the heavyweight division.[30][82]
Ospreay was supposed to be part of the 2020 New Japan Cup starting on 4 March; however, NJPW suspended all of its activities in late February due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[83] Although the company eventually resumed its activities with the New Japan Cup in June, travel limitations due to the pandemic have prevented most foreign wrestlers from returning to Japan. Ospreay made his return in September, where Ospreay participated in his second G1 Climax in the A Block where he ended his G1 run with twelve points. At night 17 of the G1 Climax, Ospreay defeated Kazuchika Okada after interference from Ospreay's girlfriend Bea Priestley and the returning young lion Great-O-Khan. After the match, Ospreay attacked Okada, turning heel,[84] leaving Chaos, and forming a new stable called United Empire. Ospreay then won the 2021 New Japan Cup as well as winning the right to challenge Kota Ibushi for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Sakura Genesis. At the event, Ospreay defeated Ibushi to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for the first time as well as becoming the first British holder of NJPW's top championship.[85][86] At Wrestling Dontaku, Ospreay made his first defense of the title when he defeated Shingo Takagi.[87] However, he suffered a neck injury during the match and was forced to vacate the title on 20 May 2021.[88]
Just three months after his injury, Ospreay made a surprise return at Resurgence on 14 August. He delivered a promo declaring himself as the true IWGP World Heavyweight Champion due to him never being beaten for the title and revealed a separate and identical belt. He also claimed recognized IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi to be an "Interim champion" as well as revealing himself out of the G1 Climax 31. He also said he would be competing on New Japan's American show Strong.[89] In the build-up to Wrestle Kingdom 16, it was announced that Ospreay would face the winner of the 4 January main event, on 5 January, to unify the World Championships. On 4 January, Kazuchika Okada defeated Shingo Takagi to win the World Championship. On 5 January, Okada defeated Ospreay to win and unify both World Championships.[90]
After his defeat, Ospreay stuck around in Japan, teaming with his United Empire teammates. Ospreay was eventually announced for that year's New Japan Cup. In the tournament, he defeated Bushi, El Phantasmo and IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Sanada, to make it to the tournament quarterfinals. During his third-round match, Ospreay fractured Sanada's orbital bone causing him to win the match by referee stoppage. In the quarterfinal round, he lost to the eventual winner Zack Sabre Jr.[91] After the tournament, at Hyper Battle, it was announced Sanada would be forced to vacate the US title, in which Ospreay and former champion Hiroshi Tanahashi expressed interest in fighting for the vacant title.[92] Ospreay returned to the NJPW United States shows on 16 April at Windy City Riot to face Jon Moxley, who Ospreay had called out at Resurgence and in post-match interviews during his New Japan Cup run. At the event, he was defeated.[93] Ospreay challenged for the US title at Capital Collision on 14 May in a four-way match, involving Tanahashi, Moxley and Juice Robinson, but failed to win the championship after being pinned by Robinson.[94] Ospreay, along with Sanada, was set to get another title shot, at Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall on 12 June in a Three-way match; however, when Robinson had to vacate the championship due to his appendicitis, Ospreay faced Sanada one-on-one for the vacant championship, where he was victorious, although he didn't possess the championship belt, due to former champion Robinson refusing to give back his vacated championship.[95]
Also on 12 June during Dominion, Ospreay was announced as a participant in the G1 Climax 32 tournament starting in July, as a part of the D block.[96] Ospreay scored 8 points in his block, advancing to the semi-finals and gaining the physical IWGP United States Championship belt from former champion Juice Robinson and David Finlay, who both competed in the D Block.[97] In the semi-final round, Ospreay defeated C Block winner Tetsuya Naito to advance to the tournament finals.[98] In the finals, Ospreay lost to Okada.[99]
Following his G1 loss, Ospreay continued to defend his IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, avenging a D-Block G1 loss to David Finlay and defeating him at NJPW Burning Spirit in September.[100] In October at Royal Quest II, Ospreay defeated Shota Umino.[101] At Battle Autumn in November, Ospreay again retained the title, defeating Tetsuya Naito once more.[102] After his defence against Naito, Ospreay was confronted by Umino, who made his return to Japan and was struck down by him.[103] Umino challenged Ospreay for the US Championship at Historic X-Over, where at the event Ospreay defeated him.[104] After the match, Kenny Omega of All Elite Wrestling appeared on the titantron belittling Ospreay and challenged him to an IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 17, a challenge which Ospreay accepted.[105] Ospreay lost the championship to Omega at Wrestle Kingdom, ending his reign at 206 days.[106]
Ospreay attempted to rebound following another loss at Wrestle Kingdom, by entering the 2023 New Japan Cup, in March.[107] Ospreay received a bye to the second round, where he defeated United Empire stablemate Mark Davis to advance to the quarterfinals.[108] However, soon after it was announced Ospreay had suffered a shoulder injury and would forfeit his place in the tournament, causing Davis to take his place and advance to the next round.[109] In April, NJPW announced a tournament to find a new #1 contender for Kenny Omega's IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, where Ospreay was announced as one of four participants in the tournament, signaling his return from injury.[110] Ospreay returned to action on 21 May at Resurgence, where he defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to advance to the tournament final.[111] The tournament final commenced at Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall the following month, where Ospreay defeated Lance Archer, to become the new #1 contender for Omega's title.[112] On 6 June at a NJPW press conference, the rematch between Ospreay and Omega for the title was confirmed to take place later in the month at Forbidden Door.[113] On 25 June at Forbidden Door, Ospreay defeated Omega to regain the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.[114]
In July, Ospreay attempted to keep his momentum, entering the yearly G1 Cimax tournament, competing in the B Block.[115] Despite losing to Taichi on the first night, Ospreay finally cleanly defeated longtime rival and former teammate Kazuchika Okada. Ospreay finished with 10 points, making him the block runner-up and therefore advancing him to the quarterfinal round.[116] In the quarterfinals, Ospreay defeated David Finlay, but lost to eventual tournament winner Tetsuya Naito in the semi-finals, eliminating him from the tournament.[117][118] Following the match, Ospreay claimed to be tired of holding a title which he had "no attachment to". Ospreay then discarded the IWGP United States Heavyweight title and unveiled a new title with a Union Jack on it, naming it the IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Championship.[119]
On 17 September, Ospreay competed in an inter-promotional match against Naomichi Marufuji of Pro Wrestling Noah at the latter's 25 Anniversary show, thus making his Pro Wrestling Noah debut.[120] Prior to the event, Ospreay claimed the match to be a "dream match" for himself, having idolised Marufuji during his career.[121] On 17 September at the event, Ospreay defeated Marufuji in a critically acclaimed match, with the two showing respect to one another after the bell.[122] Back in NJPW, Ospreay successfully defended the IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Championship against Yota Tsuji at Destruction in Kobe.[123] The following month, Ospreay defended his championship against NJPW World Television Champion, Zack Sabre Jr. at Royal Quest III and Shota Umino at Power Struggle, the month after.[124] After defeating Umino, Ospreay was confronted by former IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, Jon Moxley. Before a challenge could be laid out, both men were attacked by David Finlay, who used a mallet to destroy both the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Championship belts. Finlay’s manager Gedo, then challenged Ospreay and Moxley to a three-way match, on Finlay’s behalf for a brand new championship at Wrestle Kingdom 18.[125] Soon after the match was made official by NJPW.[126] The IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship was retired on 11 December, ending Ospreay's second title reign at 169 days an making him the final United States Heavyweight Champion. Due to this the match at Wrestle Kingdom 18 was announced to be for the newly created IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship instead.[127] On January 4, 2024 at Wrestle Kingdom 18, Ospreay failed to win the new title, as it was won by Finlay.[128]
Ring of Honor (2016–2018)
On 8 November 2016, Ring of Honor (ROH) announced that Ospreay had signed a contract with the promotion, which went into effect on 1 December.[25] On 18 November, Ospreay defeated Bobby Fish in his ROH debut match in Liverpool to become the new ROH World Television Champion.[129] He lost the title to Marty Scurll two days later, during the final day of ROH's three-day tour of the United Kingdom.[130] Ospreay had been given another opportunity to regain the title in a four corners match at ROH's December pay-per-view, Final Battle 2016, but Scurll retained his title. At Final Battle 2017, Ospreay was defeated by Matt Taven. On ROH TV, on 15 September 2018, Jay Lethal issued an open challenge and it was answered by Ospreay, who said: "I Need the World Title". The Match was signed for ROH Death Before Dishonor later that month in which Ospreay lost.
Frontline Wrestling (2018–2019)
In 2018, Ospreay announced that he would be starting his own promotion, Frontline Wrestling. He said that Frontline would be a British Puroresu style company and that wants to take wrestling in England back to being seen as a sport.[131] On 28 June 2018 they ran their first event, "Build Me An Empire". Upon the one year anniversary of the promotion, Ospreay sold Frontline to move to Japan and pursue a full time schedule in New Japan Pro Wrestling.[132]
All Elite Wrestling (2022–present)
Two weeks after United Empire teammates Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb debuted on AEW Dynamite, by attacking Roppongi Vice and FTR, Ospreay made his surprise debut for the All Elite Wrestling on the 8 June 2022 episode of Dynamite, where along with other stablemates Aaron Henare and Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis of Aussie Open, he attacked Trent Beretta and FTR.[133] On the 10 June 2022 edition of AEW Rampage, Beretta and FTR picked up a victory against United Empire's Ospreay and Aussie Open's Davis and Fletcher.[134] Ospreay competed in his first singles match at the 15 June special episode of Dynamite, Road Rager, where he defeated Dax Harwood.[135] After the match Ospreay and United Empire stablemates attacked FTR and Roppongi Vice once more, only to be interrupted by Orange Cassidy, who stared down Ospreay. Soon after a singles match between both men was scheduled for Forbidden Door, for Ospreay's newly won IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.[136] At the event, Ospreay successfully defended the title against Cassidy. After the match, Ospreay and Aussie Open attacked Cassidy and Roppongi Vice, only to be stopped by Katsuyori Shibata, who attacked the trio.[137]
On 27 July, the AEW World Trios Championship was revealed, with Ospreay and Aussie Open being named as participants in the tournament to crown the inaugural champions. On 24 August, Ospreay and Aussie Open defeated Death Triangle to progress to the semifinals, where they were defeated by The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) on 31 August.[138] After the match, United Empire attacked The Elite.[139]
Ospreay returned to AEW on the 14 June 2023 edition of Dynamite, attacking IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega at the end of the show, ahead of the two men's upcoming match at Forbidden Door.[140] On the same week's episode of Rampage, Ospreay teamed with United Empire stablemates Jeff Cobb and Kyle Fletcher, to defeat Chaos (Trent Beretta, Chuck Taylor and Rocky Romero).[141]
Ospreay returned to AEW on the 16 August episode of Dynamite aiding Don Callis by attacking Chris Jericho alongside Konosuke Takeshita, before being chased off by Jericho's ally Sammy Guevara.[142] Later in the show, Jericho challenged Ospreay to a match at All In and shortly after the match was made official for the PPV. At All In, at Wembley Stadium, Ospreay defeated Jericho with the Stormbreaker.[143] Once again under the leadership of Don Callis, Ospreay teamed with Konosuke Takeshita and Sammy Guevara, who had since betrayed Chris Jericho to join Callis, to face Jericho, Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi, in a six-man tag-team match at WrestleDream. On 1 October at the event, Ospreay, Takeshita and Guevara were victorious.[144]
On 18 November at Full Gear, it was revealed that Ospreay had signed a multi year deal with All Elite Wrestling to start in early 2024, with AEW President Tony Khan touting his acquisition as a "blockbuster signing".[145] Ospreay's contract will allow him to reside in the United Kingdom and also make select appearances for NJPW.[146]
Return to Impact Wrestling (2023–present)
Through a working partnership between New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Impact Wrestling, Ospreay was announced to be making his return to Impact after seven years in October. It was later revealed that Ospreay would return at Bound for Glory, on 21 October. Soon after, Ospreay's opponent was revealed to be Mike Bailey, in a match that was originally scheduled for Multiverse United, in March prior to Ospreay's injury.[147] At the event, Ospreay defeated Bailey.[148] On 27 October at Turning Point, Ospreay defeated Eddie Edwards.[149] Ospreay’s winning streak in Impact continued on 16 November, where Ospreay defeated Josh Alexander.[150]
Professional wrestling style and persona
Ospreay is known for his high-flying, high-risk style of wrestling, being nicknamed "The Aerial Assassin".[151] He has said that this nickname is a reference to the Assassin's Creed video games and was a persona he adopted to stand out from other British high-flying wrestlers, particularly Pac.[152] As a junior heavyweight, Ospreay used a springboard cutter named the OsCutter as his finishing maneuver. This high-risk style has caused concern about Ospreay's health and length of his career.[153][154][155] This included a neck injury he suffered against Marty Scurll on 1 April 2018.[156]
After his match against Kota Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom 13, Ospreay shortened his nickname to "The Assassin" and debuted a new finisher, a swinging back elbow he later named the Hidden Blade.[157] Since his transition to the Heavyweight division in 2020, Ospreay bulked up in size and muscle. This led to him changing his in-ring style, as he continued to use high-flying offence but incorporated more technical skill as well as powerful offence, which includes his finisher a corkscrew neckbreaker, named Stormbreaker.
Personal life
Ospreay started a relationship with English-New Zealand wrestler Bea Priestley in 2017.[158][159][160][161] They planned to move to Japan together due to their careers being based there,[162] but had split up by 2021.
As part of the Speaking Out movement in 2020, Ospreay was accused of blacklisting former wrestler Pollyanna after she made allegations towards his friend and tag team partner Scott Wainwright.[163] Independent wrestling promotion International Wrestling League (IWL) stated that a venue asked them to remove Pollyanna from a show at the request of Ospreay.[164] However, it was later revealed by IWL that the venue itself had requested her removal rather than Ospreay.[165] The person running IWL's Twitter account later said that the supposed evidence was actually their opinion on an "unclear situation".[166]
Ospreay is dyslexic, has been diagnosed with ADHD, and believes he has autism.[167]
Championships and accomplishments
- ESPN
- Match of the Year (2023) (shared with Kenny Omega in a tie between their matches at Wrestle Kingdom 17 and Forbidden Door)[168]
- Future Pro Wrestling
- Impact Wrestling
- Impact Year End Awards
- Match of the Year (2023) vs. Mike Bailey at Bound for Glory[173]
- Impact Year End Awards
- Inside The Ropes Magazine
- Ranked No. 10 of the top 50 wrestlers in the world in the ITR 50 in 2020.[174]
- Lucha Britannia
- Melbourne City Wrestling
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- New York Post
- Match of the Year (2023) vs. Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 17[188]
- One Pro Wrestling
- 1PW World Heavyweight Champion (1 time)[189]
- Preston City Wrestling
- PCW 'One to Watch in 2015' End of Year Award (2014)[190]
- Progress Wrestling
- Progress Championship (1 time)
- Progress Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Paul Robinson
- Super Strong Style 16 (2015)
- Thunderbastard (2014) [191]
- Pro Wrestling Australia
- PWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[49]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Reloaded Championship Wrestling Alliance
- RCWA Elite-1 Championship (1 time)[193]
- Revolution Pro Wrestling
- Ring of Honor
- ROH World Television Championship (1 time)[129]
- Best Move of the Year (2017) – OsCutter[197]
- SoCal Uncensored
- Match of the Year (2016) with Matt Sydal & Ricochet vs. Adam Cole & The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) on 3 September[198]
- Southside Wrestling Entertainment
- Sports Illustrated
- Ranked No. 6 of the top 10 men's wrestlers in 2018[204]
- Ranked No. 5 of the top 10 wrestlers in 2022 and 2023[205][206]
- Tokyo Sports
- Best Bout Award (2022) vs. Kazuchika Okada on 18 August[207]
- Warrior Wrestling
- What Culture Pro Wrestling/Defiant Wrestling
- WCPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Scotty Wainwright[211]
- Defiant Wrestling Award for Match of the Year (2017) – vs. Drew Galloway on 6 March[212]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Best Flying Wrestler (2016–2019)[213][214]
- Best Wrestling Maneuver (2019) – Storm Breaker[214]
- Best Wrestling Maneuver (2022) – Hidden Blade[215][216]
- Europe MVP (2021, 2022)[215][216]
- Non-Heavyweight MVP (2018, 2019)[217][214]
- Most Outstanding Wrestler (2019, 2022) [214][215][216]
- Pro Wrestling Match of the Year (2019) vs. Shingo Takagi on 5 June at the Best of the Super Juniors finals[214]
- Pro Wrestling Match of the Year (2022) vs. Kazuchika Okada on 18 August at the G1 Climax 32 finals[214][215][216]
- Other titles
- British Triangle Championship (1 time) – with Paul Robinson and Scott Wainwright[218]
References
- 1 2 "ウィル・オスプレイ" [Will Ospreay]. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 April 2017.
- ↑ "Facebook". Will Ospreay Facebook Page.
- ↑ "William Peter Charles OSPREAY - Personal Appointments". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ↑ "Will Ospreay SWE - Biographie Catcheur SWE : Catch Arena". www.catch-arena.com.
- 1 2 "The Sword of Essex William Ospreay Interview". prowrestling.com.
- ↑ Tedesco, Mike (19 October 2019). "Kip Sabian talks about what started his love of wrestling, AEW, British vs. American wrestling". Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ↑ "Events Database - Will Ospreay". Cage Match. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
12.3.2011
- 1 2 Davies, Ryan. "Wrestler Spotlight: Will Ospreay". uwejournalism. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ↑ Hawke, TJ. "Views from the Hawke's Nest: Progress Wrestling Chapter Twelve: We're Gonna Need A Bigger Room". 411mania.com. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ Diot, Dylan. "From The Shelf- Progress Chapter 13: Unbelievable Jeff!". 411mania.com. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ Hamilton, Ian (20 April 2016). "#Backfill – Progress: Chapter 14 – Thunderbastard Review". BackBodyDrop. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ "Progress Wrestling 'Chapter 15: Just Because You're Paranoid, Doesn't Mean They Aren't Out To Get You' Results". WrestleRopes UK. 28 September 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ Court, Oliver (28 January 2015). "Progress Wrestling (Chapter 17: Harder, Better, Faster, Strong) Review". Voices of Wrestling. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ Radican, Sean (11 September 2015). "RADICAN'S Progress Wrestling Chapter 19: "Super Strong Style" (Day 2) Report 5/25 - incredible show with stand-out tournament matches, Sabre-Ospreay finals, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ Radican, Sean (4 December 2015). "RADICAN'S Progress Wrestling Ch. 20 Review". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ "PROGRESS Chapter 60: Unboxing Live! 2 - Unbox Harder « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ↑ "PROGRESS Chapter 61: Don't Touch Me ... Don't ... Don't Touch Me « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ↑ "Super Strong Style 16 first round matches confirmed". progresswrestling.com. 17 May 2023.
- ↑ "Super Strong Style 16 - Day 2 Report". progresswrestling.com. 28 May 2023.
- ↑ Ospreay, Will (27 August 2016). "Time4AChange". Facebook. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « Will Ospreay « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ↑ Currier, Joseph (26 August 2017). "Daily Update: Mayweather vs. McGregor, Charlotte, WCPW World Cup". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ↑ "LUCHA FOREVER WRESTLING LTD - Officers". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ↑ "SOLD OUT Lucha Forever: Birmingham | The Dawning of Forever". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- 1 2 "Will Ospreay looking to soar to new heights in ROH". Ring of Honor. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- ↑ "The Unlikely Rivalry Between Will Ospreay & Vader - Atletifo". 2 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- 1 2 Caldwell, James (29 May 2016). "Caldwell – Ospreay vs. Ricochet – One match captures the larger argument about today's pro wrestling style". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
- ↑ "RevPro Epic Encounter results: The Elite in action". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ↑ "RevPro/NJPW Global Wars 2017 - Tag 2 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- 1 2 Rose, Bryan (14 February 2020). "WILL OSPREAY WINS REVPRO BRITISH HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE AT HIGH STAKES". WON/F4W. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ↑ "Rev Pro UK Epic Encounters 3 Details: Ospreay vs Fletcher". PWPonderings. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ↑ "411MANIA". Hamilton’s Rev Pro Epic Encounters Five 11.15.2020 Review. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ↑ "RevPro Nine Year Anniversary Results (8/21): Will Ospreay Returns | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ↑ "RevPro High Stakes Results (9/19): Will Ospreay In Action, New United Empire Members | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ↑ "RevPro Results: Uprising 2021 – London, England (11/21)". www.wrestling-news.net. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ↑ "High Stakes 2022 Quick Results". RevPro. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ↑ https://411mania.com/wrestling/hamiltons-rev-pro-uprising-2022-12-17-2022-review/
- ↑ "RevPro Epic Encounters Results (7/9): Will Ospreay Competes, Multiple Title Changes". Yahoo Entertainment. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ↑ Trappett, Brady (26 August 2023). "RevPro: 11 Year Anniversary Show (August 26) Results & Review". Voices of Wrestling. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ↑ https://www.bodyslam.net/2023/12/16/revpro-uprising-2023-results-12-16-23/
- ↑ https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/will-ospreay-announces-21824-revpro-event-will-be-his-last-challenges-michael-oku-match
- ↑ "New Japan bound Will Ospreay loses planned TNA push". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ↑ Caldwell, James (1 April 2016). "4/1 Evolve 58 iPPV Results – Evolve Title & Tag Title matches, Sabre vs. Ospreay weekend-stealer, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ↑ Laprade, Pat (3 April 2016). "Evolve 59 iPPV results: Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay; Matt Riddle vs. Zack Sabre Jr". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (12 July 2016). "Paul Heyman offers Will Ospreay an Evolve contract". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ↑ Caldwell, James; Radican, Sean (20 July 2016). "PWTorch Report – Will Ospreay signs deal with WWNLive". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ↑ Currier, Joseph (9 August 2016). "Will Ospreay to make Ring of Honor debut". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ↑ Csonka, Larry (11 August 2016). "Will Ospreay Discusses Not Signing With Evolve, Taking Less Independent Dates, More". 411Mania. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- 1 2 Meltzer, Dave (4 August 2017). "Daily Update: Will Ospreay, ROH in Chicago, G1". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ↑ "Will Ospreay: 'No querría estar en TNA, especialmente tras ver el vídeo de los Hardys'". 2 July 2016.
- ↑ Rose, Bryan (3 March 2016). "NJPW New Japan Cup results: Big announcements, first round of matches". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (9 April 2016). "NJPW Invasion Attack live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Championship". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (25 April 2016). "April 25, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Conor McGregor announces retirement, TNA sale imminent". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 34. ISSN 1083-9593.
Will Ospreay has already been offered a regular contract which would make him just about the quickest guy without an international name to get one. He got the offer after one match with the promotion.
- ↑ Johnson, Mike (29 May 2016). "William Regal provides important insight and advice in wake of talked about Ricochet vs. Ospreay bout in NJ". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
- ↑ Schwartz, Nick (29 May 2016). "Wrestling fans are going crazy over this acrobatic match in Japan". Fox Sports. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
- ↑ "Best of the Super Jr.XXIII". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ↑ Rose, Bryan (7 June 2016). "NJPW Best of the Super Juniors finals results: Will Ospreay vs. Ryusuke Taguchi". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (18 June 2016). "NJPW Dominion live results: Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP HW Championship". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- ↑ "Super J-Cup 2016". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ↑ "Super J-Cup 2016". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ↑ New Japan Road ~がんばろう!Uonuma 2016~. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 October 2016.
- ↑ Rose, Bryan (10 February 2017). "NJPW New Beginning in Osaka live results: Naito vs. Elgin". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
- ↑ "鉄拳7 Presents Best of the Super Jr.24". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ "鉄拳7 Presents Best of the Super Jr.24". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- ↑ Rose, Bryan (8 October 2017). "NJPW King of Pro Wrestling live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Evil". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ↑ "King of Pro-Wrestling". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ↑ Currier, Joseph (5 November 2017). "NJPW Power Struggle live results: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ↑ Renner, Ethan (3 January 2018). "NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 live results: Okada-Naito, Omega-Jericho". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
- ↑ "Sakura Genesis 2018 results: Okada vs. Sabre". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ↑ NJPW. "HAMAKATSU Presents WRESTLING DONTAKU 2018 – 05.04 | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
- ↑ NJPW. "2018.06.09 – DOMINION 6.9 in OSAKA-JO HALL | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
- ↑ "NJPW King of Pro Wrestling live results: Omega vs. Cody vs. Ibushi". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
- ↑ "NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 live results: Omega vs. Tanahashi". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 3 January 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
- ↑ "NEVER Openweight Championship Title Reigns 04.01.2019 - 06.04.2019: Will Ospreay". Cagematch.
- ↑ Dangoor, Louis (7 June 2019). "Will Ospreay Vs. Shingo Takagi Handed Massive Star Rating By Dave Meltzer". WrestleTalk.
- ↑ Dangoor, Louis (6 June 2019). "Dave Meltzer Boldy Claims That Will Ospreay Is Better Than Kazuchika Okada". WrestleTalk.
- ↑ "Will Ospreay to Miss G1 Climax Action Due to an Injury". 15 July 2019.
- ↑ "Dave Meltzer Awards Another Three Five Star (And Above) Ratings". 25 July 2019.
- ↑ Powell, Jason (4 January 2020). "1/4 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Jay White vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Jr. Hvt. Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ↑ Davis, Paul (5 January 2020). "Will Ospreay injured at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14". Wrestling News.com. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- ↑ Renner, Ethan (1 February 2020). "NJPW NEW BEGINNING IN SAPPORO LIVE RESULTS: BRITISH TITLE MATCH". WON/F4W. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ↑ "Will Ospreay wins British Heavyweight Championship; turns heavyweight in London". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ↑ "New Japan Cup 2020 a NJPW World Special this June!". NJPW. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ↑ "411Mania".
- ↑ "Ibushi dethroned as Ospreay captures IWGP World heavyweight Championship". NJPW. 4 April 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
- ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (4 April 2021). "Will Ospreay Wins IWGP World Heavyweight Title At NJPW Sakura Genesis". Fightful News. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
- ↑ "2021.05.04 Wrestling Dontaku 2021 | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING".
- ↑ NJPW Global [@njpwglobal] (20 May 2021). "Will Ospreay sustains neck injury; to vacate IWGP World Heavyweight Championship https://t.co/u3RAwkbyzV #njpw https://t.co/UlWMVstp4z" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 31 May 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "NJPW Resurgence Results: Winners, News and Notes as Will Ospreay Returns, is Medically Cleared". Forbes.
- ↑ "Will Ospreay: NJPW Took My Title when I Would Miss Four Months, Let Jon Moxley Keep His After a Year | Fightful News".
- ↑ "NJPW New Japan Cup Results: Zack Sabre Jr. Defeats Will Ospreay – Advances to Semi-Finals (03/21)". 21 March 2022.
- ↑ "SANADA vacates IWGP United States title at NJPW Hyper Battle". Won/F4W - Wwe News, Pro Wrestling News, Wwe Results, Aew News, Aew Results. 9 April 2022.
- ↑ "NJPW Windy City Riot Report: Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay, Ishii vs. Suzuki". 17 April 2022.
- ↑ "Juice Robinson is 'Rock Hard' after winning IWGP US title at Capital Collision". 14 May 2022.
- ↑ "NJPW Dominion 6.12 Results: Jay White Defeats Kazuchika Okada to Win IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (06/12)". 12 June 2022.
- ↑ "Field announced for NJPW G1 Climax 32". 12 June 2022.
- ↑ "NJPW G1 Climax 32 block winners determined, semifinals set". Won/F4W - Wwe News, Pro Wrestling News, Wwe Results, Aew News, Aew Results. 16 August 2022.
- ↑ "2022.08.17 G1 Climax 32 | New Japan Pro-Wrestling".
- ↑ "2022.08.18 G1 Climax 32 | New Japan Pro-Wrestling".
- ↑ "2022.09.25 BURNING SPIRIT | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW.
- ↑ Rose, Bryan (October 2022). "NJPW Royal Quest II night one results: FTR vs. Aussie Open". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, AEW News, AEW results.
- ↑ "2022.11.05 BATTLE AUTUMN '22 | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW.
- ↑ "Shota Umino Makes Shock NJPW Return – TJR Wrestling". tjrwrestling.net. 7 November 2022.
- ↑ "2022.11.20 Historic X-over | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW.
- ↑ Renner, Ethan (20 November 2022). "Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay set for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, AEW News, AEW results.
- ↑ "Kenny Omega Defeats Will Ospreay, Wins IWGP United States Title At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17". www.yahoo.com. 4 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ↑ "NJPW Announced Full List of Participants & Bracket for New Japan Cup 2023 Tournament".
- ↑ "NJPW New Japan Cup Night 7 Results – March 13, 2023 - PWMania - Wrestling News". 13 March 2023.
- ↑ "Will Ospreay withdraws from New Japan Cup due to shoulder injury". Won/F4W - Wwe News, Pro Wrestling News, Wwe Results, Aew News, Aew Results. 15 March 2023.
- ↑ "Juice Robinson & More Announced for IWGP United States #1 Contender's Tournament". 10 April 2023.
- ↑ "NJPW Resurgence live results: Strong Women's title tournament". Won/F4W - Wwe News, Pro Wrestling News, Wwe Results, Aew News, Aew Results. 21 May 2023.
- ↑ "Will Ospreay to Challenge Kenny Omega for IWGP US Title at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door". 4 June 2023.
- ↑ "411Mania".
- ↑ Powell, Jason (25 June 2023). "AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door results: Powell's live review of Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay for the IWGP U.S. Championship, MJF vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the AEW World Championship". prowrestling.net. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ↑ https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/njpw-g1-climax-33-participants-blocks-full-schedule/
- ↑ https://www.cagesideseats.com/2023/8/9/23825701/new-japan-g1-climax-33-final-block-standings-quarterfinal-matches-sanada-okada-ospreay-kingston
- ↑ https://www.f4wonline.com/news/new-japan/results/njpw-g1-climax-33-night-17-live-results-quarterfinals
- ↑ https://www.f4wonline.com/news/new-japan/results/njpw-g1-climax-33-semifinals-live-results-naito-vs-ospreay-okada-vs-evil
- ↑ https://www.f4wonline.com/news/new-japan/will-ospreay-changes-iwgp-us-title-to-uk-title
- ↑ https://www.wrestlinginc.com/1340571/will-ospreay-vs-naomichi-marufuji-set-marufujis-25th-anniversary-show-september/
- ↑ https://itrwrestling.com/news/will-ospreay-sets-sights-on-international-dream-match/
- ↑ https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/results/noah-naomichi-marufuji-25th-anniversary-show-results-917-marufuji-vs-will-ospreay
- ↑ https://www.f4wonline.com/news/new-japan/results/njpw-destruction-in-kobe-live-results-ospreay-vs-tsuji-title-match
- ↑ https://www.f4wonline.com/news/new-japan/results/njpw-power-struggle-live-results-ospreay-vs-umino-moxley-vs-great-o-khan
- ↑ https://www.postwrestling.com/2023/11/04/will-ospreay-calls-out-david-finlay-jon-moxley-for-njpw-wrestle-kingdom-18-three-way-for-a-new-championship-belt/
- ↑ https://www.sescoops.com/.amp/news/njpw-scrapping-one-championship-introducing-another-at-wrestle-kingdom-18
- ↑ Renner, Ethan (11 December 2023). "NJPW introducing IWGP Global Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 18". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ↑ https://www.f4wonline.com/news/new-japan/titles-change-hands-at-njpw-wrestle-kingdom-18
- 1 2 Currier, Joseph (18 November 2016). "Will Ospreay captures the ROH TV title in his debut". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
- ↑ Currier, Joseph (20 November 2016). "Marty Scurll defeats Will Ospreay to win the ROH TV title". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ↑ Jeremy, Jake (7 February 2018). "Exclusive: Will Ospreay Discusses His New Promotion Frontline Wrestling". Se Scoops | Wrestling News, Results & Interviews.
- ↑ Hayward, Ciarán (29 June 2018). "Frontline Wrestling: Build Me An Empire – Review". Webbed Media. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
- ↑ "AEW Dynamite Winners & Losers: Moxley Wins Big, Will Ospreay Debuts, & A New AEW Title". 9 June 2022.
- ↑ "AEW Rampage live results: Will Ospreay & Aussie Open vs. FTR & Trent Beretta". Won/F4W - Wwe News, Pro Wrestling News, Wwe Results, Aew News, Aew Results. 10 June 2022.
- ↑ "AEW Dynamite Road Rager Results". 15 June 2022.
- ↑ "Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy set for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door". Won/F4W - Wwe News, Pro Wrestling News, Wwe Results, Aew News, Aew Results. 15 June 2022.
- ↑ "AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door results: Ospreay outlasts Cassidy, gets chased off by Shibata". 26 June 2022.
- ↑ Powell, Jason (24 August 2022). "8/24 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley for the unified AEW World Championship, Death Triangle vs. Will Ospreay and Aussie Open in an AEW Trios Title tournament match, Dax Harwood vs. Jay Lethal, Billy Gunn vs. Colten Gunn, Britt Baker vs. KiLynn King, Chris Jericho and Daniel Garcia meeting". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ↑ "VIDEO: United Empire attack the Elite following AEW Dynamite". Won/F4W - Wwe News, Pro Wrestling News, Wwe Results, Aew News, Aew Results. September 2022.
- ↑ "Will Ospreay appears on AEW Dynamite, attacks Kenny Omega – Pro Wrestling Torch".
- ↑ "AEW Rampage results (6/16): Powell's review of Konosuke Takeshita vs. Bandido, Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett, and Jay Lethal vs. Mark Briscoe, Papa Briscoe, and Aubrey Edwards, Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher, and Jeff Cobb vs. Rocky Romero, Trent Beretta, and Chuck Taylor, Taya Valkyrie vs. Trish Adora". 17 June 2023.
- ↑ https://www.cagesideseats.com/aew/2023/8/16/23835273/will-ospreay-returns-aew-chris-jericho-rejects-don-callis-beatdown-all-in-match
- ↑ https://www.wrestlinginc.com/1368426/will-ospreay-returns-aew-dynamite-will-take-on-chris-jericho-all-in/
- ↑ https://wrestlingjunkie.usatoday.com/2023/10/01/aew-wrestledream-results-chris-jericho-kenny-omega-kota-ibushi-konosuke-takeshita-sammy-guevara-will-ospreay/
- ↑ Powell, Jason (18 November 2023). "AEW Full Gear results: Powell's live review of MJF vs. Jay White for the AEW World Championship, Willie Finsse vs. Steven Storm for the AEW Women's Title, Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
- ↑ "Will Ospreay Is Signed With AEW For Over Three Years; More Details | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ↑ https://impactwrestling.com/2023/09/21/the-aerial-assassin-will-ospreay-battles-speedball-mike-bailey-at-bound-for-glory/
- ↑ https://prowrestling.net/site/2023/10/21/impact-wrestling-bound-for-glory-results-moores-live-review-of-alex-shelley-vs-josh-alexander-for-the-impact-world-championship-will-ospreay-vs-mike-bailey-trinity-vs-mickie-james-for-the-knoc/
- ↑ https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/results/impact-turning-point-2023-113-results-trinity-vs-deonna-purrazzo-will-ospreay-competes-more
- ↑ https://www.f4wonline.com/news/impact-wrestling/results/impact-wrestling-live-results-will-ospreay-vs-josh-alexander
- ↑ "Will Ospreay is rewriting the rules of wrestling at the age of 23". ESPN.com. 1 December 2016.
- ↑ Stone, Danny. "Royal Ramblings Meets Will Ospreay". The Huffington Post.
- ↑ "Dave Meltzer's top matches of 2018: Five stars, pt. 1". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 27 December 2018.
- ↑ "ROH Global Wars Columbus results: Cody vs. KUSHIDA; The Elite in action". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 15 October 2017.
- ↑ "There's little use in telling Will Ospreay what to do". ESPN.com. 15 May 2017.
- ↑ "Will Ospreay questionable for New Orleans after injury". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 1 April 2018.
- ↑ "NJPW retira a Kota Ibushi de la gira de The New Beginning". solowrestling.mundodeportivo.com. 7 January 2019.
- ↑ "The Week In British Wrestling: Lucha Forever overcomes a venue change". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 15 June 2017.
- ↑ "Will Ospreay And His Missus". Talk is Jericho. 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ↑ "Piper Niven And Kay Lee Ray Expected To Sign With WWE; Offer Made To Bea Priestley | Fightful Wrestling". Fightful.
- ↑ Walsh, Shannon (16 March 2020). "WRESTLETALK & WILL OSPREAY'S NO FANS MONDAY REPORT FROM LONDON". PWInsider. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ↑ Beltrán, William (26 January 2019). "Bea Priestley le dice no a WWE y firma con AEW".
- ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (20 June 2020). "Will Ospreay Posts Statement Regarding Accusations He Helped Blacklist Pollyanna From Wrestling". Fightful. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (21 June 2020). "IWL Says Will Ospreay Told Venue He Was Uncomfortable With Pollyanna Being Booked". Fightful. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ↑ IWL [@IntWresLeague] (15 October 2020). "This should be a moment where we stand united in support of those affected by the death of Ryan Smile. Instead some are ripping it into Will Ospreay. To avoid any misconception we have to clarify something, Will did NOT contact us directly about unbooking Polly, the venue did" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021 – via Twitter.
- ↑ IWL [@IntWresLeague] (15 October 2020). "Yes. From what I knew at the time, that was my opinion. Since then, I've been made to believe that maybe the situation wasn't as clear as I thought. Hence the clarification today. https://t.co/Qpal09MwKj" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 4 April 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "Will Ospreay Discusses Being Diagnosed With ADHD, Being On Autism Spectrum, And Regretting Tweets". Fightful. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ↑ ESPN.com (26 December 2023). "Pro Wrestling 2023 awards: The best male and female wrestler, feud, faction, promo and more". ESPN. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (11 May 2014). "FPW Crowning Glory 2014 - Event @ Wallington Hall in Wallington, Greater London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (11 May 2014). "FPW Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (8 February 2015). "FPW Reloaded IV - Back To The Futurezone - Event @ Wallington Hall in Wallington, Greater London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (11 May 2014). "FPW Tag Team Championship Tournament (2014)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ↑ "IMPACT! on AXS TV Results: December 28, 2023". TNA Wrestling. TNA Staff. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ↑ McVey, Innes (28 December 2020). "New Japan News: Will Ospreay Ranked #10 In ITR 50". Inside The Ropes. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (31 May 2013). "Lucha Britannia The Super Lucha Summer Extravaganza - Event @ The Bankside Vaults in London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (20 June 2014). "Lucha Britannia - Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (16 May 2014). "Lucha Britannia - Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ↑ "Melbourne City Wrestling". m.facebook.com.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (4 April 2021). "IWGP World Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (12 June 2022). "IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (9 December 2017). "IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ↑ "NEVER Openweight Championship". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (4 January 2019). "NEVER Openweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (21 March 2021). "New Japan Cup (2021)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (7 June 2016). "Best of the Super Juniors (2016)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ↑ "2019.06.03 BEST OF THE SUPER Jr.26 FINAL Night15 | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (5 June 2019). "Best of the Super Juniors (2019)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ↑ Staszewski, Joseph (26 December 2023). "The Post's 2023 pro wrestling awards". New York Post. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ↑ "🏆 THE NEW 1PW WORLD CHAMPION 🏆 🌟 WILL OSPREAY 🌟". Twitter. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ↑ Bean, Martin. "PCW End Of Year Awards 2014 - RESULTS". Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ↑ "Progress Roster". Progress Roster. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2021". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "RCWA Saturday Night « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ↑ "RevPro High Stakes 2020". Cagematch.
- ↑ Green, David (10 July 2016). "7/10 Rev Pro in London Results – Shibata vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. dream match, Ishii, Moose, Sydal, Ospreay wins big title match, Big Damo farewell set-up". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- ↑ "RevPro Undisputed British Tag Team Championship Title Reigns 15.06.2013 - 15.03.2014: The Swords of Essex (Paul Robinson & Will Ospreay)". Cagematch.
- ↑ "BEST MOVE OF THE YEAR: WILL OSPREAY'S OSCUTTER". Ring of Honor. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (26 January 2017). "Daily Update: Omega's decision, HHH conference call, Tito vs. Chael". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (25 October 2014). "SWE 4th Anniversary Show - Event @ Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (7 August 2016). "SWE Retribution 7 - Event @ Priory Centre in St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (25 October 2014). "SWE Speed King Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (30 May 2015). "SWE Speed King 2015 - Event @ Rushcliffe Arena in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (1 October 2016). "SWE Speed King 2016 - Event @ Rushcliffe Leisure Centre in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ↑ "The Week in Wrestling: Top 10 Men's Wrestlers of 2018". Sports Illustrated. 3 January 2019. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ↑ Barrasso, Justin (28 December 2022). "Ranking the Top 10 Wrestlers of 2022". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ↑ Barrasso, Justin (31 December 2023). "Ranking The Top 10 Wrestlers of 2023". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ↑ 【プロレス大賞】グレート―O―カーン 初の技能賞も不満げ「お目が高いのか、腐っておるのか分からんな」. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). 14 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (12 December 2021). "Warrior Wrestling 17 - Pay Per View @ Tinley Park Convention Center in Tinley Park, Illinois, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (12 December 2021). "Warrior Wrestling Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (18 June 2022). "Warrior Wrestling 23 - Pay Per View @ DeltaPlex Arena & Conference Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ↑ "WCPW Tag Team Championship". What Culture Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
- ↑ "WWE News: Drew McIntyre stirs up possibility of Will Ospreay heading to WWE". www.sportskeeda.com. 31 December 2017.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (6 March 2017). "6 March 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2016 Awards issue, talent departing TNA, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 10. ISSN 1083-9593.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Meltzer, Dave (5 March 2020). "13 March 2020 Observer Newsletter: 40th Annual Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 Jaymond P (24 February 2023). "2022 Wrestling Observer Awards Results". WrestlePurists. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 Meltzer, Dave (February 2023). "February 2023 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Results of the 2022 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards". Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
- ↑ "BONUS SHOW: Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards". Post Wrestling. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "British Triangle Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
External links
- Will Ospreay on Facebook
- Will Ospreay's New Japan Pro-Wrestling profile
- Will Ospreay's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database
- Will Ospreay at IMDb