Will Ospreay's Final NJPW Match Confirmed Before Joining AEW

Earlier today at NJPW New Year Dash, the United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Francesco Akira, TJP, and HENARE) and BULLET CLUB War Dogs' (David Finlay, Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gabe Kidd, and Alex Coughlin) five-on-five clash ended in a no contest. The referee was forced to call for the bell after the War Dogs filled the ring with steel chairs from the audience. After a post-match brawl, Ospreay announced that his final NJPW match before officially joining AEW would take place on February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka. He then proposed another five-on-five bout with the War Dogs at that event, with Ospreay allowing Finlay to choose the stipulation. The new IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion opted for a steel cage match, which will be the first such bout in NJPW in over 20 years.

Later in the show, it was announced that Ospreay would take on Kazuchika Okada at next week's Battle in the Valley event in San Jose, California. Ospreay initially challenged "The Rainmaker" to a match before Wrestle Kingdom 18. The AEW-bound star believes there is still a score to settle between the two after managing to defeat Okada in last year's G1 Climax; Ospreay previously lost to Okada three times in a row.

It was first revealed that Ospreay would be leaving NJPW to join AEW at Full Gear last November. Ospreay signed his contract with Tony Khan's promotion during an in-ring segment with Tony Schiavone. However, the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion made it clear that he still had dates to honor with NJPW before he made the move over to the United States. Ospreay's final independent date before joining AEW takes place on February 18 for RevPro.