Will Ospreay: 'Tony Khan has genuinely changed my life'

Will Ospreay opened up about his decision to sign with AEW in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated.  He mentioned in the article that he first met Tony Khan nearly five years ago at RevPro High Stakes in February 2019, just weeks after AEW had been officially announced.  “At the time, Tony asked what I was interested in doing next in my career,” said Ospreay. “I said my focus was on Japan, and he respected that. I’ll always remember how he respected how I felt. I also need to mention that night was the only singles match I’ve ever wrestled against PAC–that’s something I want to throw out there so we can run it back and put it to rest between us.” At the time, Ospreay was the NEVER Openweight Champion in NJPW after having defeated Kota Ibushi for the belt at Wrestle Kingdom 13. He ended up dropping the title to Jeff Cobb two months later at the NJPW/ROH G1 Special from Madison Square Garden.  “People need to remember this–since then, I’ve built a trust and respect with Tony,” said Ospreay. “That’s very