AEW World Champion Will Ospreay Credits WCW Influence On Style

AEW President Tony Khan has been vocal in the years since his company's inception about his WCW fandom, and now, AEW World Champion Will Ospreay recently revealed his affinity for one of WCW's top divisions. "The Aerial Assassin" sat down with Orlando's WKMG News 6 ahead of his Clockwork Carnage match at AEW WrestleDream 2026, where he ultimately successfully defended his gold, and spoke about how he began to hone his craft when he was young.

"My mom put a trampoline in my back garden and I used to watch the WCW cruiserweights," Ospreay said. "I used to watch them practice their tricks. I would like pause, rewind, see where their arms were and how did they move their bodies? Then I'd go on the trampoline and try it. I got sick of it and my mom saw that I was getting into trouble at school, and on the outside, so she was going, 'How do I keep him in my garden? How do I keep him safe in the house? Put a wrestling ring in his back garden.'"

Ospreay joked that one could only imagine how wonderful his family was to all the neighbors, who were hearing all the crashing and banging around of him practicing stuff in the ring. Following his neck surgery in September 2025 that kept him out of the AEW ring for an extended period, Ospreay has had to change up his style a bit, but those changes didn't prevent him from finally capturing the AEW World Championship at Wembley Stadium at AEW All In London 2026.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit WKMG News 6 and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.