Will Ospreay Explains Decision To Sign With AEW

AEW star Will Ospreay has been the talk of the wrestling world since becoming All Elite earlier this year, with many people believing he has all the tools to become the next big star in AEW. 

Ospreay had been flying back and forth from England to attend events, which he told Chris Jericho on the "Talk is Jericho" podcast was the main reason he chose to sign with AEW.

"The main thing was just because I wanted to stay in the UK," Ospreay said. "I know I'm not exactly going to be comfortable moving to another country. I moved to Japan back in 2019, and as much as I loved it, it just wasn't home. I entered a new relationship with my missus Al, wrestles under the name Alex Windsor, and she has a son, I have a stepson now. He's just started school and if you know her story and everything that she's been through..." 

Windsor was married to British wrestler Ryan Smile, who also founded the Lucha Forever promotion in 2017, which Ospreay also had in hand to help form it. Smile passed away in 2020 at the age of 31 after a long battle with his mental health. Given that Windsor already had to pick herself back up after losing her husband, Ospreay knew it wouldn't be fair for his new family to move their entire lives away to another country.

Ospreay also knew that he needed to up his game internationally after finishing up with NJPW. "I'd done everything in New Japan, I completed it," Ospreay said. "So the viable option was where was I happy and what was I doing? Every time I came here, Tony [Khan] has given me nothing but trust and respect the moment I came in here, and it was the right decision for me at this time."

Please credit "Talk is Jericho" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.