Will Ospreay recently spoke with Kenny McIntosh of Inside The Ropes for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling and AEW.
During the discussion, “The Aerial Assassin” spoke about having his AEW “dream match” against Bryan Danielson and whether or not it lived up to the expectations.
“I was kind of like, ‘Wow, we’re going this quick?’ I thought this might be something down the line,” he said. “But I guess because it is his last year as a full-time competitor, it was more or less along the lines of no, we’ve got it, so let’s give it to the fans that have been craving for this dream match to happen. I could sit here and tell you how it came about, why it came about, but I’ll be honest with you. It was just a case of we did Revolution, I did my match against Kyle [Fletcher] and then all of a sudden it was just, boom, Bryan Danielson. I’ve got so many wonderful stories about watching Bryan Danielson and the respect that I have for him. People are saying that [it’s] one of the greatest matches in wrestling. I’m honoured to have that label and I’m honoured that I got to wrestle someone that I consider a hero.”
Ospreay continued, “Yeah, 100% met my expectations. The moment we were in the ring they started saying ‘Holy s—t.’ I know what’s a good match and what’s not. All I gotta do is close my eyes and just listen to the audience, and they were enjoying every single minute of it. Getting to come backstage was just one of those incredible moments. You ever see Avengers: Endgame where Iron Man sits down and he’s dying, and she goes, “you can rest now.” It was an incredible moment and then here comes another Iron Man film.”
He also discussed his promo style on AEW TV and the challenges he has faced moving to an American promotion where there is much more emphasis on talking segments on top of the in-ring action.
Ospreay noted that he has a unique style for American fans, Ospreay also elaborated on the challenges he has faced and why it is important to be honest.
“I’m always nervous about promos, and that goes back to years ago, when I found out that I had ADHD,” he said. “I’ve always really struggled with eye contact, and I’ve struggled with stringing sentences together. So then when you sign up for American TV, that’s 60% of the job. You’ve got to be able to talk people into the building and you’ve got to have that type of unique charisma. I guess it goes in my favour because I don’t sound like everybody. I don’t sound like the Yanks. I think the main thing is I’m just happy to be here and I just treat all the audience like they’re my mate. I’m your weird mate down the pub.”
Ospreay continued, “So I feel like because I have that aura, I get away with a little bit more. I slipped up on one of my lines that I said in the week before my match with Max and I kicked myself about it. But I’d rather be honest with people and say, you know what, no, I slipped up on a line but I worked twice as hard next time because, once again, I’m not used to this and I’ve always struggled with this. I’m not perfect when it comes to promos. In fact, I wouldn’t even put me in the top 10 when it comes to promos. But I’m learning a whole new thing, this is still six months into me being here. I’m still getting used to this. If people want to throw shade my way because of that, they’ve never been in my shoes, they don’t understand what’s in my brain. For me, it’s all about being vulnerable, honest and open, and I think that’s what connects people with me a little bit more, the fact that I do show my mistakes.”
Check out the complete interview at ITRWrestling.com.
