Will Ospreay Admits To AEW “Rebuilding Phase”
Will Ospreay isn’t shying away from the recent criticism aimed at AEW.
Following AEW’s fifth anniversary earlier in the year, much has been made about the progress the company has made since its launch in 2019.
While the promotion has created a strong alternative to WWE, signing some of the best wrestlers on the planet, some feel it should be doing more to grow. Especially in terms of TV ratings which some observers feel have been disappointing.
In a new interview with Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports, Will Ospreay gave his assessment of the company, admitting there are things it needs to work on. However, he explained there are also lots of positives to take and use as a foundation.
“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.”
Will Ospreay Reacts To AEW Ratings Slump
The June 19th episode of AEW Dynamite was praised by many people as one of the best episodes of the year, but the TV ratings told a different story. The show drew the smallest audience ever in the five-year history of Dynamite (on a non-holiday) with 502,000 viewers in the US watching on TBS.
During the same interview, Will Ospreay said he was using the poor rating as motivation, noting the rating “sucked” especially as he thought the show was really good.
H/t to WrestlingNews.Co