Will Ospreay received a strong offer from WWE before signing with AEW, but the money wasn’t the only factor in his decision.
During a conversation with Ariel Helwani, Ospreay confirmed that WWE representatives negotiated on his behalf before he officially joined AEW in 2024. He described WWE’s proposal as a “really lovely offer,” but it came with one condition he wasn’t willing to accept. WWE wanted Ospreay to relocate to the United States. Ospreay wanted to remain in England with his family, so the move was dead on arrival.
“There was an offer, and a really lovely offer as well, but it just involved me moving to the States, and I just had no ambition to move over there.”
Helwani then asked whether Ospreay would have been more open to signing with WWE if the company had allowed him to remain in England. His answer made it clear that relocation wasn’t the only problem. Ospreay respects WWE, but its presentation and in-ring product still don’t connect with him. He described WWE’s style as “minimalistic” while explaining that AEW gives him the freedom to perform and speak in his own way.
“I do respect it. I really do. It’s just I don’t like the way it’s filmed. I don’t like the wrestling behind it. I think it’s very minimalistic.”
“I’ll never say never because that’s what we kind of do in the industry now. We just want to make sure that we keep all of our options open, for sure.”
“Right now, with the format and how much fun I’m having in AEW and just how much freedom I have to be me, I don’t have anyone putting a script in my hand. I have bullet points and I go out there and I just waffle.”
When Helwani asked what he meant by calling WWE minimalistic, Ospreay compared the construction of WWE main events with the kind of matches he prefers to wrestle in AEW. Ospreay acknowledged that WWE can get a huge reaction from a single spear, something he admitted he would love to accomplish. However, that stripped-down approach doesn’t fit the way he wants to perform.
“I just think the comparison in our matches and our main event matches is very, very different. One spear for them will be super satisfying, and I honestly respect it. Man, I wish I could get a spear like that. I wish I could, but it’s just not in me.”
“I prefer what we do. I prefer taking people on rides and showing people different ways that I can get into a Styles Clash, and the full contact of it.”
Ospreay then pointed to clips he has seen from WWE where strikes appeared to miss by a wide margin. He questioned whether WWE wrestlers are being instructed to work more safely because the company is already successful and doesn’t need talent beating each other up.
“I’ve been seeing WWE recently, and I saw this one clip, and the girl missed her by flipping miles. It was like a country mile. But it’s not just the girls, it’s the guys as well.”
“I do wonder if they’re being kind of told, ‘We’re already making money. You don’t need to kill one another.’ I’m not saying everyone kills each other in AEW at all, but there’s more contact, and I like that.”
“I like to feel alive when I do my pro wrestling. I don’t want people to whiff a strike on me. I’d much rather people hit me than it look bad on TV. I know that’s weird. It might be an alien thought.”
Ospreay isn’t permanently closing the door on WWE, but he isn’t pretending the company is currently a natural fit for him either. He prefers AEW’s physical wrestling, creative freedom and limited scripting, and WWE would need to offer more than money to change his mind.
Do you agree with Will Ospreay’s criticism of WWE’s filming and in-ring style? Let us know where you stand in the comments.
