AEW World Champion Will Ospreay Looks Back On Performing Black Arrow For PAC

Will Ospreay has discussed his decision to perform the Black Arrow following the passing of fellow AEW star Pac.

The passing of Pac left the pro wrestling community in shock, none more so than those who shared the ring with him often in AEW. Ospreay wanted to pay tribute in his own way by performing the Black Arrow, which was a signature move of Pac's, in his match with Ricochet on "AEW Dynamite." The English star revealed in a recent interview with Brandon Kravitz how he had to relearn the move, which he had put away years ago due to how dangerous it was.

"After we lost him, we had the tribute match with myself and Ricochet. The amount of people that are hoping that one of us could pull off the Black Arrow, and I used to do it like years and years ago, but I haven't done it for years because it was just — I nearly didn't make the move, it had spooked me, and I never wanted to go near it again," he explained.

The AEW World Champion said that performing the move would give him, his peers, and fans an "emotional release" as they processed the news of Pac's death. Ospreay added that he hadn't performed the move in its entirety until his match against Ricochet.

"I couldn't get it off the top rope [when practising]. I was too scared. So, when I did it [in the match], that was the first time I had ever done it for, like, eight years. So, it was for me to be able to give not only the wrestlers backstage a little bit of a release, but fans a release. And I think that was something that made me so proud to be champion and so proud to be part of the roster," added Ospreay.

He revealed that he was on his way to attend a Michael Jackson show in Vegas but changed his mind after learning of Pac's death, returning to his room to mourn the loss of his friend and cry.