‘Respect It, Just Don’t Like It’ – Top AEW Star On Not Growing Up A WWE Fan

WWE/AEW

A top AEW star has opened up on why they didn’t grow up a WWE fan and why the company doesn’t ‘drive them’.

In 2023, Will Ospreay officially signed with All Elite Wrestling, arriving at the Full Gear pay-per-view event ahead of the expiration of his NJPW contract in early 2024.

Ospreay has gone on to become one of the top stars in AEW, all without stepping foot in a WWE ring at any point in his career, and it seems as though that isn’t something we can expect to see in the future either.

Will Ospreay Admits He Was ‘Never A WWE Guy’

Speaking on the Ariel Helwani Show, Ospreay noted that WWE ‘wasn’t for him’ growing up, and that he has ‘never been a WWE guy’.

He said:

“It just wasn’t for me. I didn’t like it, I didn’t like the presentation behind it, and I still have those feelings now.

“I found TNA, and I feel like that was a style that spoke to me. The X-Division was huge for me. Then seeing that and finding Pro Wrestling NOAH, Dragon Gate and New Japan were the things that inspired me and made me want to be a pro wrestler. They’re the things that drove me, WWE has never really drove me.

“When you first get into the industry and first start learning it, even in the schools. We had a guy that got signed to WWE in the schools, he would never end up going in the end because of heart conditions, but they would always tell you ‘WWE is the route’, and I’m in the background like ‘I’d like to wrestle in a six sided ring, go over to Japan and learn strong style’.

“That’s just me, I’ve just never been a WWE guy. Respect it, I just don’t like it.”

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• AEW
• wwe
• Will Ospreay

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