Why Will Ospreay Chose NJPW Over WWE In 2016
The Aerial Assassin had a host of offers at his feet in 2016.
Will Ospreay has risen in stature as one of the most lauded professional wrestlers on planet Earth over the last few years, working tirelessly to eliminate his weaknesses in a New Japan run characterised by huge, explosives matches and bucketloads of critical acclaim. He reached this point by choosing to join a perfect environment with a track record of fostering talent such as his, and spoke about it in a recent interview with the tremendous Chris Van Vliet.
On choosing NJPW over WWE and TNA back in 2016, Ospreay said that while he knew the American promotions, he wasn't familiar with NJPW. Still, he "knew where Finn Balor came from," so in his mind, his "best bet was to go there, learn the tricks of the trade, and see what happens."
One year later and Ospreay was convinced New Japan was the perfect place for him.
Ospreay also said that he turned down a spot in WWE's Cruiserweight Classic tournament that year, though WWE was still willing to let him compete in that tournament even if he didn't sign with the company full-time. Will told William Regal that "I don't really want to do something unless I'm 100% committed to it, and I'm just not, so I'd rather go to NJPW."
As far as signing with WWE in the future goes, Ospreay said "with what their current product is, I'm just not interested at all. Until things start to change, I don't think I'll be interested in WWE at all."
The full interview can be viewed below:-