AEW

AEW’s Will Ospreay Reveals Top WWE Star Worked Hard To Recruit Him To WWE: ‘He Is My Hero’

Originally posted on Ringside Intel | By Jason Burgos | Last updated 5/4/24

During a recent interview, AEW star Will Ospreay revealed that before he signed with the company, a top WWE star whom he also considers a hero actually called to “sway” him to join the top professional wrestling company in the world.

Earlier this year, AEW made a huge splash in pro wrestling free agency when they acquired the services of Will Ospreay. The Englishman is viewed by some as the best wrestler in the world today and he put together a distinguished run in NJPW that included being a rare foreign-born IWGP champion.

To the surprise of no one, WWE was reportedly one of the top suitors for Ospreay’s services. However, similar to Kazuchika Okada and Mercedes Mone, the No. 2 company in the world was able to outbid WWE, as well as offer a more limited schedule.

While Ospreay has revealed certain details about his recent jump into free agency and final decision, he added an interesting new bit of information this week about a former WWE champion who tried to persuade him to join him on the WWE roster.

AJ Styles tried to ‘sway’ Will Ospreay to join WWE

“AJ [Styles] was on the phone when he was trying to, I guess the right word would be ‘sway’ in making my decision on which company I should [sign with],” Ospreay revealed during an appearance on the “AEW Unrestricted” podcast. “And it flatters me because AJ is my hero, everything I wanted to become. I feel like he’s always kept an eye on me.

“I feel like even now, I guess that’s what the phone call was about, but he always keeps an eye on me every now and again but for me, coming [to AEW] was the right thing to do. I just knew coming here, I wanted to make a difference, I wanted to be part of a change in the culture.”

Obviously, Styles’ attempt did not work but it is certainly interesting that the WWE legend made a personal attempt to bring Will Ospreay to WWE earlier this year.

This article first appeared on Ringside Intel and was syndicated with permission.

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