Backstage News On Will Ospreay's AEW Deal: Timeframe, New Japan Exit & WWE
Will Ospreay is All Elite Wrestling's newest star, but his arrival to the promotion came together at the last minute.
In the days before AEW Full Gear, a massive signing was teased which Tony Khan described as "one of the best wrestlers in the world." As many predicted, Ospreay was the mystery signing and explained on the post-show media scrum why AEW was the best choice.
Ospreay's move to AEW has come months before his contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling is up. The Brit signing with AEW has therefore come as a surprise to many in New Japan, Fightful Select has learned. Ospreay will continue to appear for New Japan through January 2024 before wrapping up his time with the company.
Ospreay had informed New Japan management that he wouldn't be re-signing, and received their "blessing" to sign with AEW. This was likely helped by the positive relationship between the two companies which has seen two Forbidden Door pay-per-view events. The relationship between the two sides allowed this new deal to be facilitated and Ospreay will still be able to work select dates for New Japan while under AEW contract.
Negotiations between AEW and Ospreay became more active in the fall and AEW was quietly confident for some time that they'd be able to sign him. Ospreay initially expressed a desire to continue residing in the UK but was later open to all options, including a potential move to the U.S. Ospreay will be able to maintain his UK residence as part of the AEW deal.
Ospreay had been in Los Angeles from at least Friday and was kept separate from others ahead of Full Gear. The Aerial Assassin made his arrival shortly before the start of the main show. By the morning of Full Hear, Ospreay's contract had not been officially signed, and while AEW had been teasing a major signing for Full Gear during the November 15, Dynamite, his deal had yet to be finalized at the time.
WWE had its eye on Ospreay and had been in contact with his agent Barry Bloom. The discussions weren't a secret in WWE, as the company wanted to see what kind of schedule or relocation might happen. WWE sources noted that although they didn’t receive any official word of Ospreay’s signing, it was easy to estimate that he was headed for AEW.
