Will Ospreay has been a top star for AEW since making his official start earlier this year at Revolution after a successful run in NJPW.
With such a spot, he has been able to see and hear the criticism that the promotion gets from some fans as the tribalism in wrestling ramps up further, with WWE being the hottest it has been in years while AEW has lost some steam.
Speaking to Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports, Ospreay gave his thoughts on the state of All Elite Wrestling.
Ospreay said, “It’s all fairly new to me. I do believe we’ve had this string of bad luck when it comes to criticism where the ratings come in, and a lot of people live on that. Right now, we’re in a rebuilding phase, and they’re always hard. I was discussing this with some of my friends a little while ago. Even as a wrestler, five years in, you do find yourself. You always hit a plateau. Whether that’s within your character or ability or trying to get booked elsewhere, there is always that five-year-old growing pain. I think every company goes through it. If we were going to look back five years to what WWE was doing, it was low. The way that they’re thriving right now, it’s inspiring and something to hit. ‘Okay, you guys are doing that; we have to change the bar and see what we have to do to change things up.’ I’m not one of these people who shy away from it. I enjoy criticism. Someone was criticizing the way I dress. I completely understand that’s their flavor of a championship representative. If I ever walk around my area of Essex, that is how people dress, the complete authenticity of how I look, and how the people around my area talk. I do get it, but I live in a world where this is how people dress, act, and talk. I do love saying, ‘Look at all the good we’re doing. Look at all the killer matches we’re doing.’ In the same sense, we do have to take the criticisms on board because that’s how we’re going to grow as a company.”
Ospreay also spoke about his relationship with WWE’s AJ Styles.
Ospreay said, “I do see the influence that I have had on so many people, and the worst thing that I would want to do is fall into the category of never meeting heroes. AJ gave me so much, was complimentary, and has opened the doorways to allow me to not only make a lot of money but to inspire the next generation. I’m extremely grateful for that, and I’m so just thankful that I can be in a position where, like, so many guys have come up to me and said, ‘You’re the reason I got into wrestling.’ Like a 14-year-old or an 18-year-old kid said, Oh, your match with Ricochet got me into wrestling, and it freaks me out because now I’m 31 years old. It’s been over eight years now. As you know, it’s just the approach in eight years, so I take that with every bit of like, and I’m proud of that. I hold that required because guys like AJ opened the door for me, and it’s still like every now and again like drops me a message just to say ‘Well done’, gives me a phone call when it came to my negotiations, and like try to wave the flag for his company. Honestly, it’s so no, it’s beautiful, and it’s one of those things where I’ll never be able to fully say, like, Am I living in a dream because 14-year-old Billy would be losing his mind? You know what I mean? I do lose my mind on a regular basis.”
Ospreay will challenge Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Heavyweight Title at Forbidden Door this Sunday.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit CBS Sports with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
