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Will Ospreay reflects on his ‘Horrible Experience’ with this WWE Hall of Famer

Originally posted on ClutchPoints | By Matty Breisch | Last updated 3/18/24

Before Will Ospreay was the hottest new face in AEW, or dominating New Japan Pro Wrestling as one of the faces of the promotion, he was just a kid from Essex, England looking to make a name for himself on the indies as he slowly worked his way up the NJPW card.

Wrestling everywhere from PWG to CZW, TNA, Ring of Honor, NWA, and his home promotion, RevPro, Ospreay first became a household name for his matches against Ricochet at RevPro, bouts built around incredible displays of athleticism that came to personify the “new” version of professional wrestling at the time.

While plenty of performers loved the effort, one who didn’t was WWE Hall of Famer Big Van Vader, who publically trashed the move and ultimately backed it up with a bout against Ospreay at RevPro in 2016. Discussing their feud and eventual match at RevPro in an appearance on Talk Is Jericho with “The Ocho,” Chris Jericho, Ospreay revealed that the experience wasn’t as great as some may have assumed, with a proposed trilogy being shot down by the “Commonwealth Kingpin” regardless of the payday.

“Vader popped off at me, I didn’t think nothing of it, I was more like, ‘Thanks for the share, mate.’ He was burying (me vs. Richochet). He didn’t see the match. People just get mad. They got no reason to get mad, they get mad. I get it. I’ve been around it too much. At the time, it was the first legend that every buried me, so I was like, ‘Wwwhhhhat?’ Then, guys like yourself [Chris Jericho], strange saying it now, but Seth Rollins stuck up for me, Regal [William Regal] stuck up for me. It was great, but it became too much to basically be like, I thought he actually wanted to fight me,” Will Ospreay revealed on Talk is Jericho via 411 Mania.

“We got into a group conversation with myself, Andy Quildan from RevPro, Vader, and basically sorted out the match. For me, it was like a horrible experience. He’s not the nicest chap in the world. I don’t want to speak ill because he’s passed on, bless him, and he’s someone’s dad, all the best to the family, but he wasn’t very nice to me. All in all, Chris Hero loved it. It was wonderful for what it was. Probably, at the time, it was my biggest one-match payday. So it was fun looking back on it, and it’s a good story to tell the boys. He wanted a three-match clause. He wanted to do three matches. I was like, ‘F**k off.’ [laughs]. What more of a story can we do out of it? It’s the one match; you’re getting your payday.”

Would it have been cool to see Ospreay and Vader mix it up two more times before the latter passed away? Totally, but considering the match in question wasn’t all that great – nowhere near the five-star indie classics of Ospreay versus Ricochet – it’s probably for the best that this one was a one-and-down in the RevPro catalog.

Ricochet would love to run it back with Will Ospreay one more time.

Speaking of Will Ospreay’s experience wrestling Ricochet around the indies, with 19 matches featuring the duo before the latter went to WWE, the “The Highlight Of The Night” reflected on his matches with the “Aeriel Assassin” when he was still a pending free agent in an interview with Nick Hausman and revealed that he would happily accept another match against his indie rival regardless of the venue.

“I feel like what he and I did, we weren’t trying to create some crazy viral moment that everyone is going to talk about forever. We were just planning, me and Ospreay; we were just gonna go out there, take it to each other, and have the match that we have. He just is a freak of nature. You know what I mean?” Ricochet asked Nick Hausman.

“He’s a dummy, he’s always hurt, he’s always hurting himself. He’s like my little brother. Absolutely, I would absolutely love to have another opportunity for me and Ospreay to have another bout. Especially because I believe, the last one way, I think he won. That’s so dumb. So, I would love to have my revenge on Will Ospreay in any capacity. Absolutely.

“But like you said, he’s doing his own thing. He’s making his own; he’s paving his own way. He’s doing his own thing on his own time. So, if it happens, it happens, but until then, I do just hope he stays healthy. Stop doing so much stuff and hurting yourself so much.”

Unfortunately for Ricochet, it would appear Ospreay won’t be heading to WWE any time soon, as he’s signed a multi-year contract with AEW and has already become a certified fan favorite for his impassioned promos and his in-ring excellence. Still, don’t despair too much, wrestling fans, as Ricochet’s contract will eventually come up in WWE, and based on his television usage as of late, he might be open to making a jump to AEW, where his incredible athleticism could be properly showcased.