For American wrestling fans who value sleeping in over sleeper holds, 2024 was likely a big introduction to Will Ospreay, London's audacious all-world assassin.
After years of wowing audiences primarily in the United Kingdom and Japan, Ospreay agreed to terms with AEW in late 2023. He spent the following year putting his stamp on some of the very best contests the company has produced to date. His non-stop motor and breakneck style earned him top or near-top honors across various Wrestler of the Year lists, including Uncrowned's own.
But now, with 2024 in his rearview mirror and a familiar foe as his next big challenge, Ospreay wants to make it clear: He's ready for the responsibility of being not just a standout, but AEW's standard-bearer going forward.
German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once wrote, "The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection." Things like match ratings are rooted in subjectivity, and no one match style can be reasonably considered "the best" when most wrestling organizations pride themselves on variety. But almost across the board, it's been accepted that what Ospreay contributes in-ring is special in a way that few others can match.
"I feel confident in myself," Ospreay says. "But I will say I'm still at that A-tier. But I'm working on that S-tier."
The "S-tier" he references -- a designation for the highest-level item or character in a video game -- is often presented as something or someone you can't look away from. One of Ospreay's biggest goals moving forward is to hit all the right visual cues that American audiences are familiar with in order to keep their eyes trained on him.
"A lot of the things [In New Japan Pro Wrestling] were just learning the trade out there, learning how to be a professional wrestler," Ospreay says. "But along the way, you do pick up certain things with the cameras [while watching matches back]. Although, New Japan, they don't queue up their cameramen with everything that's going on.
"With [AEW], you get to get a real deep experience in learning how to perform to an American audience by using the cameras. For me, I've always treated wrestling like a little bit of a concert, where I like the audience participation. It was only last year that I really found out about the Osprey chant in my theme song, and I really wanted to put production behind that and to put that whole thing and the cameraman working alongside with me to make that entrance really special."
It's not just in presentation, as Ospreay is still looking for that perfect marriage between the loose time limitations in New Japan or Revolution Pro Wrestling, and the firm ins and outs of televised American wrestling. His most heralded matches for AEW have mostly been on pay-per-views with few, if any, television timeouts, allowing for an extended show time like the Wrestle Kingdoms and RevPro Epic Encounters of his past. Ospreay aspires to be many things, but being relegated to a special attraction at 31 years of age is not one of them.
"At first, I really struggled with that," he says. "I struggled putting my feet in it because there's only so many minutes that you're given. In those instances and those moments, I do find myself improvising and working on the fly."
Even with the weekly adjustments, Ospreay has no intention of making special events any less special. He's done what he can to add to pay-per-view matches without stripping down what's presented on Wednesday nights, mostly by reflecting on past builds to big matches in Japan.
"The only time I would do those big, crazy singles matches were either if we had a lineup of G1s or New Japan Cup tournaments or Best of Super Juniors tournaments, or they were at the end of a big pay-per-view where you would do a tour of the entirety of Japan ... and then there would be the big singles match," he says.
"Then to do those New Japan matches on weekly TV, I would lose that presence and lose that real and that excitement of like, 'Oh, OK, this is going to be good.'"
Now the biggest difference in quality, like a good Caesar salad, is adding the right breadcrumbs. Ospreay has made it a point to add small things, match by match, so that if you're locked in, you'll see the callbacks once you reach the crescendo of a pay-per-view Sunday.
"When I get to do a long 25-minute match, I feel like that's when I'm allowed to really play with the match and to try out new things, and to take audiences more on a ride in those styles," he says. "I do see what people mean, because randomly on a 'Dynamite' [I'll do a spot with] Ricochet, and everyone's like, 'What the hell?'
"And sometimes you have to do that, but I always do those type of matches with a game plan in mind that this is going to lead to something bigger. So that's why I still make the TV matches important and thrilling and exciting for the fans. But then when it comes to the pay-per-views, I'm able to blow it away."
Ospreay stands today in a unique position. He's both heir apparent and king in the crosshairs, prospering between "Big Bout Machine" Kenny Omega and his former stablemate turned singles standout Kyle Fletcher.
With Omega, it's been almost 10 years since their initial match at Pro Wrestling Guerilla's All Star Weekend 11. Since then, Ospreay has mirrored -- and in some cases outmatched -- Omega's success. He won the IWGP United States and Junior Heavyweight Championships a combined five times (compared to Kenny Omega's four). He also won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, a feat Omega never accomplished.
Yet Omega is the only one between them to win the G1 Climax tournament, and, as it relates to their current ecosystem, the only one to win the AEW World Championship.
"I generally do think that to the next generation coming through, that they will look at myself and Kenny the same way that I looked at Bryan Danielson and AJ Styles," Ospreay says. "I take that with every bit of compliment and every bit of respect and responsibility under the sun. I'm inspired by leaving something behind, so then when the next person comes through, the workload will not stop with me. The workload will always find a way of producing more guys that want to work hard and give fans great, brilliant experiences for pro wrestling.
"I think that's the similarities between me and Kenny, is that we're those guys now. We're the guys that want to give people exciting and thrilling storytelling matches. I think the difference between me and Kenny is I still look at Kenny in that way, [where he is] still a mountain that I need to climb. There are things that Kenny does that I am in awe at and that I am wowed by. When people try and compare me and Kenny, obviously, there are things that we do very, very different in terms of stylistic and maybe even athletically. But I'll always be in awe of Kenny's ability to draw in everybody. He's always had that ability to capture people's imagination and to leave people with lasting memories. And I think that's the one thing I want to try and master."
Even regarding Fletcher, who only recently transitioned into singles competition after his Aussie Open tag-team partner Mark Davis went down with a wrist injury, there's an appreciation for the things he's done that Ospreay either has not or cannot do. It's an almost enthusiastic envy, mixed with deep appreciation.
"He's changed his body and committed to something that I never could find the best way of doing it. I really struggle with that side of things," Ospreay says of Fletcher.
"His commitment to move across from Australia to not only England, but to America now, and to impress every single person that he's ever come across -- he's been given the ball and he's ran with it as far as he physically can."
But their similarities are what impress Ospreay the most. Fletcher's rapid maturation in AEW reminds Ospreay of how, even when surrounded by the top talents all over the world, he was able to stand out and reach his status as one of the world's best.
"When everyone is, at minimum, a B-tier talent -- [and] that's the minimum that we've got here, so that's the crazy bit about it -- for him to be there and to find his own margin and to find his own opening, but not only with the talent and the ability, but as a bad guy, as a heel, is an extremely hard [thing] to do, and he's done it masterfully."
Their match at Sunday's AEW Revolution pay-per-view sees them enter a steel cage to attempt to settle their differences stemming from their shared time in the Don Callis family.
Ospreay most recently competed in a cage match with New Japan Pro Wrestling just over a year ago. But that match had two big differences, both in spacing and scope: It was a five-on-five match, and Japanese cage matches lack the verticality of their American counterparts. Closer to a prison than a pen, the American version is designed to be too tall to allow easy access or escape.
So the man known for flying inside, outside and around the ring is mildly apprehensive, but lives for the chance -- both for himself and the fans -- to feel something new.
"This is a real American steel cage match, which I've never done. I've never had to perform to an arena with something between myself and the audience," he says. "So that's where I'm a little bit intimidated by that level of engagement.
"I know, deep down, I feel confident in my abilities, but this is for me the biggest test that I have coming over to AEW, because I now need to master the art of doing the Will Ospreay pay-per-view match and having an obstacle with me. That cage is almost the third person in there, so that's either going to hinder my abilities or it's going to get my creative juices really flowing and I'll excel at this part of it. And I feel like if I do, then there's no limits to what I can do."
Ospreay isn't placing any limits on how far he can go in AEW. He doesn't just want to have "the Will Ospreay match." He wants the opportunity to be the company's leading man, along with the prize that cements that. While he's been a world champion before, he feels that this time he's more prepared for everything that comes with that distinction.
"I want to be the world champ. I cannot say it any easier than that," he says. "I have longed and wanted the responsibility for ages, and I feel like every time I got the responsibility in Japan, I dropped the ball because I wasn't mature enough to see what was in front of me.
"For the first time in my life, I generally feel like I have the fans' trust, and I feel like there is a large portion of people that are backing and wanting me to finally take to the throne. And for me, I'm so grateful that it seems like it could be on the table. If I keep working hard enough and I keep dedicating myself, I could be that guy."
The fact that the man who topped so many year-end wrestling lists still feels he has more room to grow just shows why it was so easy to earmark him as one of the very best talents of 2024. Excellence in pursuit of even greater things inspires others, but it's the world around Ospreay that has him inspired. Whether it's idols, new rivals, or the people cheering his name, Ospreay wants everyone to know just how sincere he is about carrying the banner of AEW.
"I owe it to myself and I owe it to everyone that supported me and fought [for me] every single time," he says, "I owe it to them to try my absolute best to make it happen.
"I just feel it right now. My whole thing with wrestling has always been timing, and it's always been [that] you strike when it's hot. So if I have [the fans'] trust, then I won't break it, and I'm mature enough to know what's in front of me. That's both intimidating to me because of the size and the stature of what AEW is, but I'm confident. And I really want the ball."