AEW's Will Ospreay Reveals Why He Turned Down EVOLVE Deal From Paul Heyman In 2016

AEW star Will Ospreay has shed some light about not signing with EVOLVE in 2016, when he was offered a deal by WWE's Paul Heyman.

During his recent conversation with "YoJoshMartinez," Ospreay was asked by a fan about being a "Paul Heyman Guy." The AEW star was complimentary about the veteran wrestling manager, but revealed that he turned down an offer made by Heyman to him nearly a decade ago because the money wasn't great.

"Listen, yeah, sure [I'd love to be a 'Paul Heyman Guy.'] Paul gave me that incredible moment once upon a time when he offered me an EVOLVE deal, years ago. I didn't take it because the money was sh*t, to be honest with you [laughs]. It was lovely," he said. "I love Paul Heyman, I grew up watching him, I've always admired his ability to evolve his character, to get into certain roles. He's the man."

Ospreay, when offered the deal by Heyman in 2016, had stated that he was under contract with NJPW and that they would have to look into it if he decided to sign with WWE. He had also stated that if he were to join an American promotion, it would've been ROH, due to their good relationship with the Japanese promotion. 

The English star eventually continued on with NJPW, and was a part of the promotion until last year. WWE was once again interested in signing Ospreay last year when his NJPW contract was coming to an end, but he revealed that the negotiations he had with WWE and AEW were night and day. Ospreay said that the deal that AEW offered was significantly better than WWE, while he had a less arduous schedule in AEW as well.