Will Ospreay’s high-risk wrestling style eventually caught up with him, but he still wouldn’t erase the moves that helped make him a star.
During a conversation with Ariel Helwani, Ospreay opened up about the neck injury that forced him to undergo surgery in September 2025. The first warning signs appeared during the 2024 Continental Classic, when he began experiencing a strange sensation in his hand. Ospreay initially thought the problem came from repeatedly hitting the mat or chopping his opponents. The symptoms continued getting worse until ordinary wrestling bumps caused him to lose control of his arm.
“When the C2 started in 2024, I started feeling something in my hand, but I just didn’t know what it was. I just thought maybe it was a vibration of the hand where I’d been chopping people or bumping and my hand was hitting the mat too much.”
“Then I started getting a seizing up of my trap, and as it went on, it just got a little bit worse, a little bit worse. There would be moments where I would just take a plain old back bump off a shoulder tackle or off a clothesline and I’d completely lose my arm.”
The situation reached the point where Ospreay’s arm would spasm and curl inward. He admitted that he had no idea how serious the damage had become.
“It would just spasm. It would completely go into a little T-Rex arm, mate, and it would completely shut off. I had no idea what it was. I had no idea how severe or bad it was.”
Ospreay eventually received a call from his doctor while taking his son to Epic Universe. What was supposed to be a family trip to Super Nintendo World suddenly turned into the moment he learned that surgery was necessary.
“I was taking my son to Epic Universe, and it had just freshly opened. He was super excited, ready to go to Super Nintendo World, and I was excited as well. Then I had Dr. Wallace call me up and tell me how severe it actually was and what we were going to need to go through.”
“It was daunting and scary because surgery is no laughing joke. It genuinely kept me up at night for so long because I didn’t know what I was going to look like after the surgery. I’d heard horror stories.”
The injury also forced Ospreay to confront the years he spent throwing his body around in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He once believed he could recover from anything, but this time his body didn’t cooperate.
“I’m so happy that I went through that journey because it makes me appreciate the struggle that I put my body through. It makes me happy that I can still do this again.”
“If anyone watched my stuff, especially my earlier stuff in Japan where I was throwing my body at the scenery, it was like, ‘Hey, no one gets out unscathed anymore, man.’ I used to be a rubber ball. I used to bounce back all the time. I didn’t bounce back from this one.”
Helwani then asked Ospreay whether he would go back and remove some of those dangerous moves from his career. Ospreay said no, crediting that style with separating him from other wrestlers, earning him worldwide recognition and landing him a life-changing AEW contract.
“That’s hard because I get such a fulfillment and a joy being able to do things that not many people are able to do. It’s something that I took great pride in, knowing that my art was so appreciated by so many people, and it landed me the job in AEW and completely changed my life.”
“So, being honest, no. Maybe I’d be a little bit more careful about the landings and stuff like that, but my bumps are always crisp. I always attack the mat. I don’t land in positions where my body isn’t used to it. I think, honestly, just the wear and tear gradually wore on my discs.”
Ospreay understands exactly what his wrestling style cost him, but he also knows what it gave him. The dangerous moves damaged his body, yet they also carried him from the British independent scene to an AEW World Championship match against Kenny Omega at Wembley Stadium.
Would you change anything about Will Ospreay’s wrestling style, or were those risks necessary for him to reach this level? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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