Will Ospreay Reveals Why He Thought NJPW Were Going To Fire Him In 2021

Will Ospreay thought he was going to be fired by New Japan Pro-Wrestling back in 2021.

Ospreay was only months into his heel run in the promotion, having turned on Kazuchika Okada during the G1 Climax in 2020, and the Aerial Assassin found himself as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion in Spring 2021, having defeated Kota Ibushi for the belt at Sakura Genesis in April. Disaster struck in Ospreay's only title defence as he suffered a serious back injury during his 44-minute classic against Shingo Takagi at Wrestling Dontaku.

Due to the injury, the COVID-19 pandemic, and issues in his personal life, Ospreay decided to relinquish the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, a decision that left him fearing he would be fired by NJPW.

"By (20 minutes) into that match (against Shingo Takagi at Wrestling Dontaku 2021), I hit a Shooting Star Press on Shingo and my back f*cking exploded. I never felt pain like it. I was in agony. My boy HENARE was ringside and he saw it and like… I start crouching down. He's like, 'You good?' I'm like, 'Dude, I think I broke my back.' I was in agony. Continue with the match, was able to finish it. I don't know how but I was able to finish it. Did my promo and then went straight to the doctor, 'I think I need to go to the hospital. I'm in pain' and I was met with, 'Sorry, COVID.' They wouldn't take me to the hospital. Because it was COVID," Ospreay began on Talk is Jericho.

"They were doing emergency shutdowns all over and it's not New Japan's fault but, I was in agony dude. But like, what could they do? So our hands are kind of tied together at this point. But we was able to go back to Tokyo. Meanwhile, we knew six of the guys on the roster got COVID. So we have no idea if any of us got COVID. So then, they transport us to a Tokyo hospital but not a... almost like a tent where we're getting the COVID tests done. Thankfully, I didn't come out with any symptoms. Nothing from me, nothing on the rest of the roster. But then it was like, 'Hey guys, we're gonna cancel the rest of the shows' but we're all still out here. So now, all the gaijins are kind of like, 'Well, do we get to go home?' And they're like, 'Ah, we might have house shows' and it was like, f**k house shows. Send us home and meanwhile, I was in agony dude. I was in so much pain. I couldn't bear the f*cking pain of it and then it was just a case of being like, there was the injury, I was going through a messy breakup and it was just like there was so much going on and then they went, 'Hey, don't go outside. Stay in your room. Don't go to the gym, don't do anything' and I was in my apartment pacing up and down like a tiger and I went, 'You know what? F**k this. I'm out,'" he continued.

"It broke my heart. It f*cking did. I handed the belt back and I was just like, 'Dude, I'm hurt, I'm injured, my head's all over the f*cking place. I need to go home.' Gedo completely understood. He's heartbroken over it but he understood that I needed to go home. I went home, I sorted myself out but, that's when I called you (Chris Jericho) and I was just like, 'Dude, I feel like I might lose my job' because it was the case of like, they trusted me with this belt and I don't think I'm ever gonna get that trust back but it was just like, I feel like I was gonna get fired and I was kind of like, what do I do? Because the only option in England at the time was NXT UK and while I respected all the guys that did that, I was like, f**k that. I don't wanna go there. I wanna be a New Japan wrestler or I wanna wrestle like I'm a New Japan wrestler... You obviously had said, 'Of course there will be something here but not right now. We couldn't open the doors yet' but New Japan being New Japan, thankfully, allowed me to stay home, work out all my s**t, get healthy. 

"They even said, 'Could you go do the American shows?' And I said, 'Yeah, it's cool' and I got therapy and I got my MRIs back and I blew out two of my discs in my back. I got my therapy done, I was good to go in August. So that's how good it was. I got hurt in May, I was back in August. That's how good the therapy was."

Ospreay made his surprise return in August 2021 which led to a run of him appearing on NJPW STRONG shows and proclaiming himself to be the real IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. The storyline resulted in Ospreay main eventing Wrestle Kingdom 16 against Kazuchika Okada to determine the undisputed IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.

Ospreay has since exited NJPW and begun his full-time run with All Elite Wrestling in February 2024. The man many have called the best wrestler in the world revealed why he decided to sign with AEW over WWE.

H/T POST Wrestling