Will Ospreay Wants To Return NJPW Back To The Top Of The Wrestling World

Will Ospreay Wants To Return NJPW Back To The Top Of The Wrestling World AEW

A top star wants to return New Japan Pro Wrestling back to the top of the wrestling world.

In recent years, Will Ospreay has become a stalwart and one of the top stars of NJPW. 2022 was a landmark year for “The Commonwealth Kingpin” having won the Best Bout award alongside Kazuchika Okada for their match in the finals of the G1 Climax 32 tournament.

Ospreay also won the IWGP United States Championship and raised its prestige through high profile matches with Tetsuya Naito and David Finlay.

The NJPW star defended the gold against former AEW World Champion Kenny Omega in a dream match at Wrestle Kingdom 17. Despite losing the bout, it proved to be an epic encounter for the ages that created plenty of buzz for New Japan.

Speaking with Tokyo Sports, Ospreay reflected on his spectacular 2022 and stated that he aimed to get more attention for NJPW. Feeling like he achieved that goal, he stated:

“It’s been a very intense year. I think it was fulfilling because there were some hard times. Although [I] was still isolated due to the influence of the corona virus and had difficulty moving around, [I] won the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. I had a goal of getting more attention for New Japan, and I’m happy to have achieved that.”

When asked to describe his goals for 2023, Ospreay expressed his desire to have NJPW return to being the top wrestling company in the world. He said:

“Japan has finally gotten out of the corona [pandemic] and is starting to cheer at the venue.”

“I want New Japan Pro-Wrestling to return to being the number one organization in the world. I was able to win the best bout, but it was very frustrating that the final match of “G1 Climax” was not sold out. I want to fill all the venues this year, and of course Tokyo Dome.”

Reflecting on some of his obstacles throughout the last 12 months including losing the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and getting extremely sick due to a kidney disease, Ospreay said:

“Over the past two years, I lost the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship due to an injury, and last year I almost died from a kidney disease.”

“Finally, I got to the match that the world was paying attention to at the Tokyo Dome, but I was completely defeated. It was a very frustrating defeat.”

“So I had to set myself some tough goals. ‘Do or die.’ During this year, not only will I return to the top, but I will also return New Japan to the top of the world. I think that I can do it in the sense that I will go through this year with that thought.”

Transcription via Fightful

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1 year ago by SP3

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