Will Ospreay has reached a point where an incredible wrestling match almost feels like the expectation whenever his name is on the card. With 57 matches now carrying a five-star rating from Dave Meltzer, Ospreay admits that expectation can sometimes create pressure, but he also doesn’t believe every match needs to chase that standard.
While speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Ospreay was actually surprised to learn just how high his total had climbed. He had 25 five-star matches when the two spoke in 2023 and 47 by their next interview, but Ospreay had no idea where the number currently stood.
“Oh, I don’t know how many I’ve got now.”
When Van Vliet told him the number had reached 57, the conversation turned to whether Ospreay now feels trapped by his own reputation. After years of being known as the guy expected to produce five-star matches, even having a perfectly fine match can suddenly look disappointing by comparison.
Ospreay admitted that pressure does get to him sometimes. This year, though, he has deliberately spent more time trying to show another side of himself rather than constantly attempting to steal the show through match quality alone.
“Sometimes I do, but, like, I feel like a lot of this year I haven’t needed to be the five-star guy. I’ve needed to be kind of like a little bit of a storyteller guy.”
That doesn’t mean Ospreay believes that version of himself has disappeared. When the occasion calls for a huge match, he feels he can still turn it on, pointing to his work with Swerve Strickland as an example.
“And then when it’s time for me to do, like, the five stars, I bust it out. Like, for example, I think I’ve got one with Swerve. Like, I think so, maybe. But, like, I think that was the only one that I had until then.”
Ospreay also pushed back on the idea that he walks into the ring actively trying to earn another five-star rating. He knows what that level of match looks like in his own head, but that doesn’t mean he designs everything around getting another number added to his total.
“Like, I don’t angle my matches towards trying to get a five star, but, like, I have an idea of what my version of a five-star match looks like, I guess.”
His definition isn’t tied to one particular wrestling style either. Ospreay said the approach can change completely depending on what story has already been established before the bell rings.
“Well, it just depends on, like, the story that we’ve told leading up to it.”
Sometimes, there doesn’t even need to be much of a story. Ospreay pointed to a famous Dragon Gate six-man tag as an example of wrestlers producing something special largely through what happened between the ropes. For Ospreay, the action itself told viewers everything they needed to know.
“Because, like, obviously there are matches that can easily get those, get the five. Like, I mean, you look at that, like, the Dragon Gate match where it was, like, the six-man tag where, like, no one knew the story. It was just action, but because of that it was mind-blowing at the time. For Ospreay, the action itself told viewers everything they needed to know.”
Fifty-seven five-star matches would be enough to make almost anyone obsess over reaching number 58, but Ospreay seems more interested in knowing when that kind of match is actually necessary. Sometimes he wants the action to blow people away, sometimes he wants to tell a story, and he doesn’t think every night needs another star added to the collection.
Do you think Will Ospreay’s five-star reputation has created unrealistic expectations for every match he wrestles? Let us know in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
