Will Ospreay: AEW’s offer was ‘night and day’ compared to WWE

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Originally published at Will Ospreay: AEW’s offer was ‘night and day’ compared to WWE

One of AEW’s newest arrivals has opened up on why he decided to join the promotion.

Long-time NJPW star Will Ospreay recently reflected on his AEW signing when he spoke with Chris Jericho on the “Talk Is Jericho” podcast. He said that when he was deciding his next path as a wrestler, he thought what AEW offered worked better than the setup he would have with WWE.

“It was night and day,” said Ospreay, when comparing the discussions he had with AEW and WWE. “Even differences in what they were offering and what AEW was offering, AEW was way better. The scheduling, everything about AEW was completely the right option for me. It was like, you can go be a superstar in the WWE and famous, but it’s not as good a pay [and] it’s not as kind of a schedule. I respect everyone there doing it, but it’s not for me.”

Ospreay explained to Jericho that he currently lives in the U.K. and travels back home in between TV appearances for AEW. Being able to live in the U.K. is a priority for the decorated 30-year-old wrestler, allowing him to spend time with his partner Alex Windsor and his stepson. While working with NJPW, Ospreay would be in Japan for large chunks of time while fulfilling bookings on a tour.

Ospreay had sporadically made AEW appearances in recent years while still working for NJPW, appearing 11 times from 2022 to 2023. This included high-profile singles matches against Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho.

“The Aerial Assassin” said that his previous time in AEW was an influence on why he decided to sign with the promotion.

“Every time I came here [AEW], Tony [Khan] has given me nothing but trust and respect the moment I came in here,” Ospreay said. “It was the right decision for me at this time. I’m happy here, I’m looking forward to the challenges, it’s the right decision.”

Ospreay made his official AEW debut earlier this month at Revolution, going 21 minutes for a win against Konosuke Takeshita. He then faced another Don Callis family member on last week’s episode of Dynamite, beating Kyle Fletcher in the main event.

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While I do think he likely makes it in WWE, I do think AEW was the clear choice for him. AEW is going to treat him the way a WWE is going to treat a Roman or Rollins or Cody, if he went to WWE, it wouldnt shock me to see him treated like that next tier (ie. AJ, Rey, LA Knight, etc.). He made the right call IMO.

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On-screen, AEW is the better place for him. Off-screen, it was more money with less dates, and he can still live in the UK and work in Japan. No brainer.

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There’s gotta be a certain appeal to working at AEW and knowing you can still go out in public to the grocery store or whatever and not get recognized. You’re never going to hit that level of celebrity in AEW where it will impact your personal life. More money + less fame = easy decision.

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There are definitely people out there that crave the fame/limelight and want that, but if it were me I would 100% prefer what you laid out.

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Now that there’s a legitimate alternative out there, the days of WWE just floating out ‘Mania Moments’ as some kind of sales pitch are done. Unless it’s someone who is already sold on their company line, this is going to be the outcome more often than not. With Mercedes now officially All Elite (the commercials have me thinking she has been locked in for a while, what we saw prior to her arrival was a teaser with her cut from it), TK has the opportunity to make this incredibly appealing for the women.

Ospreay has a better chance of being at the top of the card faster in AEW than in WWE.

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Agreed with the Ospreay analysis. I don’t think WWE wanted him close to as much as AEW wanted him, and I’m glad he signed there as well.

As for the other part, I think it comes down to how badly WWE wants someone. Mercedes for example, was negotiating with WWE and based on reports it appeared she wanted to sign there but WWE felt she was asking for too much money and negotiations fell apart. Tony must have offered her what she was looking for, but I truly believe that if WWE really really wanted her, she would have signed there. Unless her asking price with WWE was through the moon and she was willing to sign with AEW for less which is possible. Though based on her Austin interview, I don’t see her signing for anything less then what she believes she’s worth, my guess is she wanted to be the highest paid women’s performer (which I have no issue with for the record).

I think it’s going to come down to three things. Money, card placement, and loyalty. Some AEW and WWE performers and are likely emotionally tied to their respective companies and will stay as long as there is mutual interest.

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Both have the money to spend pretty much infinitely. But WWE is a part of a larger corporation, and AEW is Tony Khan. If it’s somebody that Tony wants, I think he is just about always going to “win” if it’s strictly about money.

WWE/TKO/Endeavor care much more about return on investment. Tony just wants who he wants. And since he can afford it, more power to him. Not my money.

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Ya there is truth to this for sure. From what I read the top people in WWE have more earning potential than the top people in AEW and that will be a factor sometimes. But you’re right, Tony is accountable to nobody outside of his dad to a degree, and from what I’ve seen his dad is hands off.

The line I was pushing back on was that performers choosing AEW over WWE is an outcome that was going to be “more often then not” as I don’t believe all free agents are going to choose AEW if there is interest on both sides. If you ask me, I’d say it balances out and ends up 50/50 which is a good thing for the industry.

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Yeah they probably earn more money overall but if you look at the daily rates I wouldn’t be surprised if the AEW guys are making a hell of a lot more. They work 1-3 days a week probably compared to 5-6 in WWE

Add appearances for other companies and they could be raking it in.

WWE will be the bigger company for years and years to come but I wonder if 1 big big signing could one day move to AEW shifting the needle for the foreseeable future. For example, I don’t think Roman moving is beyond believability…Brock if he wasn’t an awful human being maybe as well.

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You also have to remember it’s never all or nothing. You can goto AEW and take the money and become a bigger star and then goto WWE later.

Osprey has that option as does Mone and Mox and MJF etc. unless you are already old and thinking of retiring it makes sense to take the combo of money, easier life and better position now and then take a WWE job later if you like

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Being a main evener in AEW for years will only increase his value in the next round of negotiations, when his life and desires will undoubtedly be different. This was seemingly the most logical decision for his life now, with setting the seed for potential even greater opportunities and better contracts when he approaches his next opportunity at free agency.

And free agency in the sporting sense is far more a part of North American pro wrestling, with both promotions being strong, which is a very good thing.

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With all due respect, I dont think those numbers are that accurate, I have never heard of a present day WWE performer working 6 days a week, thats what it was like in the 80’s. I think it depends on the individual and the need/want of the respective company. Roman Reigns for example from what is out there makes 5million/year, I cant imagine anyone in AEW makes that. With that said, that is an outlier and I understand that.

At the end of the day, the Khans have a lot of money but it is still a business. WWE has a huge advantage over AEW because they have higher revenues and net profit. So while AEW can outbid on certain performers they really want, I can’t see them outbidding WWE every time like you eluded to as even Tony wants to make a profit and can’t just spend blindly.

As for Roman going to AEW, I would love that. MJF to WWE, would love that. Seth Rollins to AEW, Omega to WWE etc. etc. etc. If top performers jump that is just a win for the fans. Look at Cody coming to WWE and Danielson going to AEW, I feel its pretty safe to say that it was a win-win.

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Case and point, AJ Styles. Sure it was TNA/NJPW, but same concept.

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I could definitely see Ospreay going this route after his contract is up. Right now he’s a competitive guy and probably wants to stake his claim as “best wrestler alive, bruv” or whatever by having insane matches in AEW that he would never be allowed to have in WWE. But give him another five years of wear and tear and ungodly neck bumps and WWE’s punchy-kicky style might start to sound more desirable.

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