Will Ospreay Signs Multi-Year AEW Deal; Details On How It Happened

Written by Innes McVey • Published 19th November 2023
Will Ospreay officially signing his AEW contract at Full Gear 2023

A new report has given some backstage insight on Will Ospreay, his new AEW deal, and how it all came about despite him still being signed to NJPW.

After days of rife speculation, Will Ospreay was unveiled as AEW’s latest blockbuster signee at Full Gear last night. His signing was first teased by Tony Khan earlier this week with their identity being reported to be Ospreay on Friday. This was reiterated ahead of the pay-per-view going on air when it was reported that NJPW sources believed Will Ospreay was set to sign with AEW.

Immediately after signing with the promotion, however, Ospreay revealed it’ll still be a few months before he’ll be able to appear regularly in AEW. In the meantime, he’ll be finishing up his commitments with New Japan Pro-Wrestling including his scheduled IWGP United Kingdom title defence next January at Wrestle Kingdom 18 against Jon Moxley and David Finlay.

Shortly after Ospreay appeared at Full Gear, Fightful Select released a report detailing how the deal, which was noted to last for over three years, came together despite Ospreay still being a contracted NJPW talent for the next months.

New Japan is said to have given Ospreay their blessing to sign with AEW after he informed them he would not be re-signing with them. The strong relationship between the two companies was what ultimately allowed the deal to take place and will also allow Ospreay to continue wrestling for his longtime Japanese home on occasion.

In recent news, Kazuchika Okada is making his return to TNA.

NJPW has addressed the status of the IWGP United Kingdom Championship, in which Ospreay was the most recent champion.

AEW Were “Very Optimistic” About Signing Will Ospreay

Fightful went on to note that contract negotiations between Ospreay and AEW began ramping up this past fall with Tony Khan’s organisation feeling very confident they could acquire The Assassin. One notable part of the deal is that Ospreay will still be able to live in the UK which is something the 30-year-old desired but was willing to compromise on if necessary.

Both WWE and IMPACT Wrestling are said to have expressed interest in Ospreay with WWE specifically reaching out to his representation in the last few weeks to get an idea of his interest. However, they realised by this week that he would instead be AEW-bound. In regards to IMPACT, Ospreay is said to be interested in returning to the promotion, following his recent stint there, after it rebrands back to TNA in January.

In a new report, it was revealed that a rival company presented Will Ospreay with a massive offer.