8 months ago
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AEW
Will Ospreay became All Elite in November last year when it was announced he'd signed with AEW and would thus leave NJPW. As Ospreay looked to become available at the end of his NJPW deal, he was subject to interest from both AEW and WWE, and he recently called negotiations with the two companies "night and day" in terms of the availability and financial assurances on the table.
The "Aerial Assassin" has since made a splash in his new environment, re-debuting at Revolution 2024 with a win over Konosuke Takeshita and another victory over Kyle Fletcher on the following "AEW Dynamite". Dave Meltzer speculated during "Wrestling Observer Radio" that WWE may have underestimated Ospreay's charisma and ability on the mic, hence the lower offer tabled, citing that he had heard from people in WWE who said they "thought he was another great worker".
Will Ospreay to WWE looked unlikely considering he wanted to remain in England while making the travel to work in the US. The likes of Gunther, Ilja Dragunov, Tyler Bate, and Pete Dunne have notably had to leave Europe to continue their WWE careers. Ospreay had also enjoyed marquee appearances on AEW cards previously, facing Kenny Omega at Forbidden Door 2023 and later Chris Jericho at All In. Thus, he had an established working relationship with President Tony Khan, whereas WWE would have been an entirely fresh start in a completely new setting. Ospreay was the first of a trio of signings AEW outmaneuvered WWE on, recently joined by Kazuchika Okada and Mercedes Mone as they also left NJPW amidst WWE interest.
