Will Ospreay has been used as one of AEW’s top stars since starting officially in March after signing with the promotion in 2023. Ospreay has mixed it up with several notable names on the roster while being the International Champion.
Last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite drew concerning television ratings as the show had 502,000 viewers with a 0.16 key demo rating. That was down from the week prior of 681K viewers and 0.23 demo on June 12th while doing 680,000 viewers and a 0.22 rating in the 18-49 this week on June 26th. This week’s show had Big Bang Theory as its lead-in show, something AEW didn’t have when they drew its record-low ratings.
While speaking with CBS Sports, Ospreay discussed the low ratings as he said that it sucked to see when it came out as he felt the show was a home run.
“It sucks that it was such a low rating but it’s just motivating me and I’m sure it’s motivating others to try and think out of the box and come back swinging,” Ospreay said. “I’m not someone who ignores that type of s—. I see it and I take note of it. I put it in the checkbook and I make sure whatever we do next week, we come back swinging. We shouldn’t ignore criticism or shy away from it. We’re still a five-year company and we’re still hitting the ropes with these things. For me, AEW still has lots of growing pains to go through.”
Ospreay said that there is always that five-year growing pain for any company or wrestler. However, he embraces the challenge.
“If we look back five years to what WWE was doing, they were at a low. But the way they’re thriving right now is inspiring to everyone. It should be something to hit. We need to change the bar and see what we must do to change things up. Like I said, I’m not the type of person to shy away from it. I enjoy criticism.”
Ospreay will challenge Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Heavyweight Title at Forbidden Door this Sunday.
