Will Ospreay Addresses AEW Signing NJPW Stars, How Partnership Can Be Expanded

Published: 7 minutes ago by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: 25 seconds ago by Dave Adamson

Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.

Will Ospreay Addresses AEW Signing NJPW Stars, How Partnership Can Be Expanded

Will Ospreay has addressed AEW signing NJPW stars, the partnership between both companies, and how it can be expanded.

Having made a return to NJPW earlier this year, Will Ospreay seeks to become a first-time NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champion at Dontaku on May 4.

Signed to AEW since Novemeber 2023, Ospreay has recently shared his thoughts on the partnership between his current home and the New Japan-Pro Wrestling in an interview with NJPW, touching upon stars who have subsequently signed with Tony Khan, saying:

“It is a difficult one. I can understand there can be a certain perception because a lot of guys did go from New Japan into AEW, myself included. But NJPW has always been exceptional at creating new stars; it just took time for New Japan to really identify who was going to be the top guy carrying things forward.

“And if you just looked at Wrestle Kingdom this year, Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, Andrade as well on that card were all major moments that could only really happen with the AEW relationship.”

Ospreay would also share the belief that more AEW stars should head to NJPW as a way to grow their abilities, with the reverse also being an option, stating:

“At the same time, I do think there could be more guys sent from AEW into NJPW, and not just big names to pop a house, but for a tour, or longer than that. Especially with the sheer size and the number of people AEW has under contract, I think it would be a great chance for AEW talent to grow and come back even better. And vice versa as well.”

While Ospreay would note he wasn’t specifically focusing on “big names”, he was asked who he would pick for a tour of up to six months, naming:

“On the top end, obviously, Moxley, Omega would pull in big houses. I would love to see Swerve Strickland in Japan. I really would. And MJF- is he just a great American TV wrestler, or would he be really successful in Japan as well? That’s a whole different animal he’s never done. And then, as well, I love Mike Bailey, and I think he could do more in the junior heavyweight space, because he is such an exciting wrestler in that mould. And Daniel Garcia, I think, could learn so much from a good few months in Japan.

As for an exchange in the other direction, Ospreay would name fellow United Empire stars among those who could benefit from time in AEW, stating:

“When the United Empire guys came over for that eight-man on AEW Dynamite, HENARE, Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, all of them got over so big so quickly. And Edmonton isn’t a massive wrestling hotbed like Toronto or Calgary.

“They all came over and make such an impact I would love to just take over AEW with them for like six months.”

A crossover point exists in the form of AEW Forbidden Door, which has grown from being a joint show with NJPW and now includes stars from CMLL, and Stardom, with Ospreay sharing his thoughts on using the pay-per-view as a catalyst for a talent exchange, saying:

“Well, at first (Forbidden Door) was about dream matches, and I think now it’s shifted a little bit. It’s a bigger look at the different cultures of pro-wrestling, be it Japanese, Mexican or the joshi style as well, which is different from Japanese men’s wrestling. I’d love to see a European company like RevPro in there as well to really accentuate things.

“I would love to have just a little season leading into Forbidden Door. Have everybody showing up in everyone else’s promotion, not just in AEW but in Mexico, the UK, and Japan, and then have it all tie into this one big show where people all over the world are clamouring to buy this pay-per-view.

“AEW’s in a unique position to make that happen. That’s why I don’t like antagonism- we’re partners, and together we can really show how great the world of wrestling is.”

AEW Forbidden Door returns on June 28, with this year’s event taking place at SAP Center in San Jose, California.

A Crossover That Could Happen

Adding Revolution Pro Wrestling to the mix for AEW Forbidden Door isn’t beyond the realms of possibility, particular with the England-based promotion sharing a strong working relationship with NJPW that has spawned the Global Wars UK co-production in past years.

Not only does Will Ospreay have a close relationship with Revolution Pro Wrestling, but Mercedes Mone was also the promotion’s Undisputed British Women’s Champion, having defeated Mina Shirakawa at Wrestle Dynasty, which took place at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on January 5, 2025.

In comments made to Markus Gronemann back in September 2024, Rev Pro owner Andy Quildan described the relationship with AEW and Tony Khan in more detail, stating:

“And the AEW relationship, it’s not an official relationship. I respect Tony (Khan) a lot. I like Tony. I’d say I consider Tony a friend.”

“… So it’s not really an official relationship with AEW, but it’s kind of like, we work alongside each other, and we’re respectful of one another. Tony knows, and his team knows, that if they need anything, all they’ve got to do is ask, and occasionally, I might ask for a favor from them and hope that they realize that I’m more than happy to do as many favors for them as they like.”

Transcript from POST Wrestling.

“Unofficial” the relationship may be, but it clearly exists on more than just a surface level between both parties, and with Revolution Pro continuing to showcase a solid roster of British wrestling talent, that would certainly shine in the same way the likes of Will Ospreay and others have by being seen on the bigger stages of AEW and NJPW.