Details On The Negotiations Between AEW and Will Ospreay, WWE Had Interest

As reported previously reported, Will Ospreay is All Elite and announced his arrival in AEW at tonight’s Full Gear PPV. Fightful Select reports that Ospreay signed a multi-yeal deal, which is over three years.

The deal was made “well before” Ospreay’s time with NJPW was up, as he still is under contract there until the end of January. Ospreay told NJPW he wasn’t signing a new deal with them and they gave their blessing for him to go to AEW. It was the working relationship between both companies that allowed the deal to happen. Ospreay will still work select NJPW dates while under AEW contract, similar to Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega and others.

Contract negotiations began in earnest in the early fall and AEW was “optimistic” they would get him. He previously said he wanted to stay in the UK, but later said he was willing to explore other options, such as a move to the US. He will be able to stay in the UK as part of this deal. Ospreay arrived just before the PPV began. The contract wasn’t finalized and signed as of this morning. It was teased before the deal was made.

Meanwhile, WWE did indeed have interest in Ospreay and were in contact with his agent, Barry Bloom, in recent weeks to see if he was interested. It’s believed the talks weren’t a secret in the company, as they were trying to see what kind of schedule or relocation might happen. WWE sources noted that they hadn’t got any official word of Ospreay’s signing but most guessed he was going to AEW. By Friday night at Collision, talent in AEW were openly talking about it.

Impact was also interested but it’s unknown how far those talks got. Ospreay previously expressed interest in wrestling in a TNA ring.