Will Ospreay has won world championships, headlined major shows and built a reputation as one of the best wrestlers on the planet. Ask enough wrestling fans about him, though, and one thing always seems to come up first: Dave Meltzer’s stars.
The AEW star finally addressed that reputation during a conversation with Simon Miller after the host jokingly suggested Ospreay’s entire career could someday be remembered by one statistic—the ridiculous number of five-star matches attached to his name.
“You are the leading five-star contender… How does it feel your career one day could be reduced down to just some gold shinies?”
The Aerial Assassin admitted the ratings are nice to receive, but he doesn’t lose sleep over them either.
“It’s not like it doesn’t mean anything. It’s nice, right? Everyone likes a compliment.”
That answer only encouraged Miller to double down on the joke. Instead of talking about wrestling anymore, he compared Ospreay to Mario collecting stars, saying every great match is basically another shiny reward from Meltzer.
“‘I really liked your match, Will.’ Here’s a star. You’re Mario basically.”
Ospreay couldn’t help but laugh: “Yeah, Mario.” The joke somehow got even more ridiculous from there. Miller pointed out Ospreay has collected so many highly rated matches that he’s already blown past Super Mario 64, joking he’d beaten Bowser and practically finished the game. Rather than argue about the numbers, Ospreay leaned into the bit.
“I’m proud of myself. One time I’ve actually done something of value.”
The exchange was mostly laughs, but it also summed up how Ospreay views one of the biggest talking points surrounding his career. He appreciates the praise, he’s grateful people enjoy his work, but he isn’t chasing stars. He’s just happy people are watching.
Do you think Dave Meltzer’s star ratings have become too big a part of wrestling discussions, or are they still a fun way to celebrate great matches? Let us know in the comments below.
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