Will Ospreay thinks one of wrestling’s most famous crowd chants has lost some of its punch. The AEW star flat-out said getting fans to yell “This Is Awesome” has become almost too easy because modern wrestlers are so insanely athletic that spectacular matches are happening everywhere.
The comments came from an archived interview with Booker T that was recently replayed on the Hall of Fame podcast. Booker was looking back at Ospreay’s work with Ricochet and specifically brought up the difference between getting fans to praise the match itself and getting them emotionally invested in the wrestler.
Booker explained that hearing “This Is Awesome” is great, but as a babyface, he always wanted something much more personal — fans chanting his actual name. He then asked Ospreay how important it was to create that kind of connection with the audience. Ospreay agreed and said the ridiculous level of athleticism in wrestling today has made one particular reaction a whole lot easier to get.
“Uh, I think it’s very important because if they’re not—I do you know what, I don’t know if it’s just you as well and I would actually really like to hear your opinion on this—but I do think it’s almost too easy to get ‘This is awesome’ chant now because everyone is a freak athlete. Everyone’s a freak right now.”
What Ospreay actually wants is something harder to manufacture. He said the reactions that mean the most are when fans get so wrapped up in the match they don’t even have a chant ready.
“But what do you know the one that I love these days? It’s the one where they haven’t got a chant and they’re just mind-blown and they just cheer and they clap and they’re like, ‘We can’t believe this is happening.’ That’s the one that I go for these days.”
Booker immediately agreed with him and explained that he always wanted fans emotionally attached to him, not simply impressed by the action happening in the ring.
“As far as the ‘This is awesome’ chant, it’s too easy. Um, but to make the people—for me, I used to want the people to say, ‘Booker T. Booker T.’ I needed them to have, you know, as a babyface such as you were that match… to really make the fans feel an emotional connection with you at the end of the night.”
The funny part is Ospreay has spent years getting the exact chant he says is too easy to earn. During his nearly hour-long match against MJF in July 2024, the crowd repeatedly lost its mind as MJF defeated Ospreay to capture the AEW International Championship, with “This Is Awesome” breaking out during the closing stretch.
But Ospreay’s point isn’t that fans shouldn’t chant it. He wants something even tougher to pull off — the kind of reaction where people stop thinking about what comes next because they’re completely locked into the wrestler and the story.
That’s a pretty wild standard coming from a guy whose matches have spent years getting crowds out of their seats. Ospreay isn’t satisfied with fans simply telling him the match is awesome — he wants them so emotionally fried they forget to organize the chant in the first place.
Do you agree with Will Ospreay that “This Is Awesome” chants have become too easy to get, or do you still think the chant means something when a match really earns it? Let us know what you think 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.
