Don’t expect Will Ospreay to do business with any promotion outside of NJPW anytime soon.

Ospreay competed in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 16 night two. The night prior, Kazuchika Okada captured the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship from Shingo Takagi.

The storyline going into WK was that Ospreay was the self-proclaimed “real” IWGP World Heavyweight Champion since he was forced to vacate the title due to injury. He considered the winner of Okada vs. Takagi an interim titleholder.
Will Ospreay Slams Forbidden Door Shut

Will Ospreay fell short in his title match with Okada. During the post-Wrestle Kingdom press conference, the former IWGP king made it clear to reporters that he has no interest in wrestling for another promotion (via POST Wrestling).

“I apologize to the fans that want to fantasy book but I’m not walking through no forbidden door seeing that door is firmly closed for me. And, I’m not signing my life away to someone else so I can get fired eight months down the line.

“I ain’t going anywhere. I’m back in New Japan Pro Wrestling and I’m going to stay here until I main event another Tokyo Dome because I will and I will hold this championship once more.

“Until then, you can have it back. I don’t need your help, I don’t need any friends, I’ve got my brothers [United Empire]. This isn’t the last you’ve seen of me.”


Just hours after Ospreay’s jab at WWE‘s release sprees, the company announced a new wave of NXT cuts. Office workers, coaches, writers, and talents have been let go.

Time will tell what’s next for Ospreay following WK 16. The United Empire members went 0-3 on night two of NJPW’s biggest event of the year with Great-O-Khan losing to SANADA and Jeff Cobb falling short against Tetsuya Naito.