Will Ospreay Shares Massive Goal After Joining AEW

Will Ospreay has revealed his ambitions after joining the AEW roster.

The British star’s signing with AEW was confirmed at Full Gear on 18th November, with the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion introduced as the big name signing promised by Tony Khan in the weeks leading up to the event.

Having fulfilled his contractual obligations with NJPW, Ospreay appeared on the 28th February edition of AEW Dynamite to confirm he was now full-time on the roster and signalled his intentions for the future in an interview with Tony Schiavone.

The London-born grappler is set to battle Konosuke Takeshita at AEW Revolution on 3rd March and he had a warning for the Japanese star ahead of their hotly anticipated encounter:

“I’m ready for this responsibility. I’m ready to take this. I’m ready to go All Elite. I’m ready to be the number one guy here. To do that, I know I got to beat my own teammate.

Like I said, I beat Jericho and I beat Kenny. You know who else has done there? Takeshita. There’s no one better. You’re a great teammate, but I need a good rival, mate. Sunday, come bring your A game for me, my friend.

Because you’re stepping foot with pound-for-pound the best wrestler on the damn planet. I’m not here to take part, I’m here to take over. This place is mine now.”

Will Ospreay Reveals Anxiety Prevented Him From Earlier US Success

Despite years of success in Europe and Japan, Ospreay has yet to taste success at the highest level in the USA. The 30 year-old addressed the matter during the interview with Schiavone, candidly revealing that anxiety and a lack of maturity previously had prevented success across the pond:

“You need to understand, bruv, from Essex, man. Just a small little county outside London. For eight years, man, I applied myself in Japan. That’s all I did. Japan, and the UK indies, I only dipped my toes into America.

I believe honestly, it’s an anxiety coming here, it’s something that’s been holding me back. Maybe it’s the fact that I wanted to learn the trade, but maybe I wasn’t mature enough to come here and to feel that.

I felt that in there, man. Alabama. I couldn’t even find Alabama. If you showed me a map of America, I couldn’t find where it is. But my name has somehow reached over there.”

H/T: Fightful for the above transcription.