Will Ospreay Explains His Devotion To NJPW

On January 4 at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, Will Ospreay lost the IWGP United States Championship to AEW's Kenny Omega, who departed the company 4 years ago. In Omega's absence, Ospreay and IWGP World Champion Jay White stepped up as major foreign stars. Despite having a busy schedule outside the company, Ospreay seems committed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling for the time being.

"It's flattering to know where people want me to show up, where people want me to go," he told Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp. "I signed a five-year [contract] back in 2019, so that'll be up next year. I don't really know; my heart says I will still be with New Japan, but I won't lie to you: I have mad anxiety when it comes to America, and just because I come from such a small area, and America is so big, so I've only really dipped my toes into American wrestling. I've done my stint with Ring of Honor, but I think I wrestled there maybe 10 times. Maybe? But I kind of like to arrive and then leave, I don't like to stick around too long. And that's no one's fault besides my own, it's just a mad anxiety that I do have, but I won't lie to you and say that the time I did have with AEW didn't open my eyes.

"What I think that I know about myself and how good I am as a professional wrestler [is that] being over there made me take a step back and say 'OK, maybe there is more to learn.' But my heart does belong to New Japan."