Will Ospreay Vows NJPW Return For 1 Major Reason

Will Ospreay has promised that he’ll be making his return to New Japan Pro Wrestling once he’s medically cleared to compete.

Will Ospreay has been out of action since Forbidden Door 2025 and has undergone neck surgery as he looks to get back to full health. Many expect AEW to want Ospreay back in action in time for All In 2026, which is expected to be back at Wembley Stadium in London, England, in August. However, even that timeline remains optimistic given the operation Ospreay had to endure.

Ospreay did make an appearance at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 20 as he was one of several stars who paid tribute to Hiroshi Tanahashi following Tanahashi’s final match of his career against Kazuchika Okada.

But Ospreay is making the most of his time in Japan as he’s reunited with his former group at New Year’s Dash.

Will Ospreay Wants United Empire To Prosper

New Year’s Dash saw United Empire (Jake Lee, Callum Newman, HENARE & Great-O-Khan) defeat David Finlay, Drilla Moloney, Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji. After the match, original United Empire leader Will Ospreay joined his former partners in the ring and had a special message for Newman in particular.

Will Ospreay told Newman that he did not think his leaving NJPW would lead to United Empire’s struggles and vowed to put it right. Ospreay noted that when he’s medically cleared, he has business to attend to in AEW but will then return to NJPW to support Newman and his version of United Empire.

However, there was a sting in the tail, as when Ospreay asked everyone to throw up the United Empire hand signal, Newman refused and instead went to get a steel chair to target Ospreay. O-Khan and HENARE stopped Newman from using the chair, and Newman stormed out of the ring.