Major Star Forced To Stop Using Finishing Move?

Published: May 21, 2023 by Jamie Toolan | Last Updated: May 21, 2023 by Jamie Toolan

Jamie has been covering the world of wrestling for four years and currently holds the position of Assistant Editor of WrestleTalk.com. During his time working for WrestleTalk.com he has written and published over 4,000 news and feature articles covering events and happenings from WWE, AEW, TNA and a variety of international and independent wrestling promotions.

Major Star Forced To Stop Using Finishing Move?

Following a shoulder injury sustained during his New Japan Cup match with Mark Davis in March, Will Ospreay took a hiatus from in-ring competition.

While he was back between the ropes little over a month later, the long-term implications of his injury are starting to be felt as he recently revealed to Fightful that the damage done to his arm may force him to stop using his finishing manoeuvre the Stormbreaker.

Ospreay revealed:

“My physio even said (my shoulder is) not fully healed, so there is a chance that if you’re lifting someone over your head, this thing could f**king rip off again.”

“It is making me question whether I should be doing the Stormbreaker anymore because that’s… the biggest move that I f**king have. I hit that, it’s game over. But I’m f**king scared, bro.”

Ospreay would note that the Stormbreaker is not the only move he’s had to remove from his arsenal due to injury, revealing that the reverse 450 splash and shooting star press are two other examples of sacrifices he’s had to make for the betterment of his health.

Despite only being 30-years-old Opsreay has notoriously had a great deal of injury woes and wear and tear on his body in his career and had to greatly adjust his in-ring style over the years.

Shortly after being cleared to return to the ring following his latest injury Ospreay would upload a video to Twitter in which he would open up about his recent health problems, revealing that he doesn’t know how long a ride his career will be.

While injuries have greatly altered his style, the ‘Aerial Assassin’ would reveal that he’s got no issue with making adjustments, with it just meaning a greater emphasis on the moves he can perform safely.

Osprey said:

“If it means that I’ve got to say goodbye to Stormbreaker, then I just gotta perfect the Hidden Blade more and just hopefully that’ll do the job.”

Ospreay is set to compete for the chance at a future rematch with Kenny Omega for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship when he takes on Hiroshi Tanahashi at NJPW STRONG Resurgence on Sunday, May 21.

The full card for NJPW STRONG Resurgence can be found below:

NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship Final

IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Number One Contender’s Tournament: Will Ospreay vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

CHAOS (Rocky Romero, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada) vs Wheeler Yuta, Shota Umino & Jon Moxley

NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship: Hikuleo (c) vs KENTA

Street Fight: Juice Robinson vs Fred Rosser

TMDK (Bad Dude Tito & Zack Sabre Jr.) vs Barbaro Cavernario & Virus

NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship Tournament: Momo Kohgo vs Willow Nightingale

NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship Tournament: Mercedes Moné vs Stephanie Vaquer

Alex Coughlin vs Christopher Daniels

The DKC vs Bateman

Transcript courtesy of WrestlingInc

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