With all due respect to MJF, the hottest free agent in pro wrestling in the months ahead may be Will Ospreay.
Widely regarded as one of the best wrestlers on the planet, the 30-year-old Englishman has called New Japan Pro-Wrestling his home since 2016 while continuing to compete in other promotions as well. U.S. fans who may have been unaware of his NJPW work have had a chance to see him a handful of times on AEW shows within the past 18 months.
Ospreay’s contract with NJPW will be up in February, and he’s said there’s still a chance he could re-sign there. He’s also gone on the record as saying he didn’t want to live in the U.S., narrowing his choices down to Japan or England.
But in a new interview with Metro this week, Ospreay broadened his stance on where he could call home thanks to support from his partner. That, in turn, led the outlet to ask him if he would consider the biggest possible move: to WWE.
Ospreay didn’t rule it out.
I mean, we have spoke about it more. I’m now open to the idea of stretching myself out that little bit more.
As age has become more apparent to me and my body is hurting more and more, I’m open to all avenues. I’ve had a lot of talks with my friends about this, and I have spoke to the missus.
Although we’ve spent so much money on our new kitchen, we are open to the idea of relocating to the United States.
He went on to tease a potential matchup with Seth Rollins, which would no doubt get many fans salivating stateside.
But “open to all avenues” could mean Impact Wrestling, a company Ospreay has said he’s also talking to and could use him as the big hook for its recently announced rebranding as TNA in 2024. One would assume Tony Khan is courting him for AEW as well.
That said, it’s hard to argue against the idea that Ospreay joining WWE would be the most intriguing possibility for next year. And for the first time, he’s making it sound like it could actually happen.