Will Ospreay Reveals the Passing of His Grandmother, Dedicates Tonight’s Match to Her

– In a video he shared on social media earlier today, AEW International Champion Will Ospreay announced the recent passing of his grandmother, who he revealed he learned about the news when he flew into New York on Tuesday. Ospreay dedicated his title bout at tonight’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024 event to her memory. You can see the view and some highlights of his comments below:

Will Ospreay on the news he received earlier this week: “It’s been such an overwhelming week. Tuesday, I landed in America and I was given the news that my nan passed away, and it’s the first time I’ve ever lost a family member. It’s not just all for six, it’s all been such an emotional week, and yeah, it’s a sense of relief as well because my nan was in so much pain. So for her to now be at peace is good, but it still doesn’t stop the hurting. Having everybody backstage and everyone on my phone, to have that amazing support system, I can’t begin to tell you guys how lucky I am to have that support.”

On tonight’s show: “I realize that tonight is going to be a 14-match card, and the energy in that arena is going to be spunked. I really do believe. I don’t envy you guys at all, but if there’s something I can ask, if anybody’s watching this video and is attending tonight’s show, save some of that energy because I’m really gonna need it. It’s been one of the hardest weeks of my entire life just to be able to keep all this in. I’ve bottled everything up, and now it’s all coming here. It’s all here right in front of me. For the first time, I’m going for the world title in the UBS Arena.”

On AEW: “I can’t begin to thank AEW, my family, my friends, and everybody for this incredible support system that I’ve had, and to be trusted in the main event for — I think this is the first time I’ve been in the main event with a million-dollar gate, so this makes me happy. All that hard work is paying off. So if you guys are in attendance or you guys are just watching, send me your good vibes, send me all the love that you got. This one’s for all my family and for my Nan. Love all you guys so much, I hope I don’t let you guys down, and hopefully, by the end of the night, I’ll be the first-ever AEW International and World Champion. Thank you so much guys, god bless you all. Take care.”

Will Ospreay faces Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship later tonight at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024. The event is being held at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Tonight’s show will be broadcast live on pay-per-view.

On behalf of 411, we send our condolences to Will Ospreay and his family for their loss.

Send me all the love and good vibes please guys 💚

Tonight UBS Arena | @AEW Forbidden door | pic.twitter.com/jjw7KtcQMC

— Will Ospreay • ウィル・オスプレイ (@WillOspreay) June 30, 2024