Backstage Update On Will Ospreay's NJPW Status
New details on Will Opsreay, NJPW unrest, and more.
Will Ospreay has told New Japan Pro Wrestling that he is committed to the promotion going forward, reports Voice of Wrestling's Joe Lanza.
NJPW now has no fear of the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion leaving following Ospreay decision to return to his native United Kingdom in May. This came amidst reports of unrest amongst New Japan's foreign wrestlers due to the company's handling of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as Ospreay vacated the IWGP strap due to a reported neck injury.
Any tension between NJPW and its foreign contingent has largely dissipated. Officials held a meeting to smooth things over with its non-Japanese wrestlers during the recent Wrestle Grand Slam tour, in which the aforementioned frustrations were raised, though the three wrestlers most upset with the situation weren't on the tour or at the meeting.
Ospreay, meanwhile, has no heat for leaving Japan, with Lanza's sources indicating that the NJPW office likely relented as Will resting his injured neck is probably for the best.
Rumours of Ospreay potentially leaving NJPW for WWE's NXT UK brand appear to be wide of the mark, and born of an internal misunderstanding of NXT UK's place in the WWE hierarchy.