Will Ospreay Says Twitter Feud With Seth Rollins Makes Him Laugh, Talks G1 Climax Tournament

– Will Ospreay spoke with Sports Illustrated for a new interview discussing his Twitter war with Seth Rollins, being in this year’s G1 Climax and more. Highlights are below:

On his social media feud with Rollins: “My championship is a little bit more prestigious than your championship. More power to him, good luck, but my string of matches from this year alone has a lot of people talking about what I can do, and I’ll focus on that instead of what Seth Rollins is doing on social media.”

On the absurdity of the whole thing: “The whole thing makes me laugh. He put out there, ‘Find me anyone alive that does the same schedule that I do and performs at the same quality.’ I just said, ‘I’m alive.’ Yeah, you’re on the road for 300 days a year, sorry I’m not–I’m doing 250. His response was to say, ‘Little guy.’ I’m the same bloody height as you. Then he said he has Ricochet, a better version of me. Why is he involving someone else? Ricochet is the man, and he’s one of the best at this style. But why get him involved? This is between me and you. I feel like Rollins has respect for me and I’ve got respect for Rollins, and I’d love to have a match with him one day, but right now, that’s not my vision.”

On his participation in the G1 Climax: “I’m blessed to be the first guy ever to do the [New Japan] Cup, Super Juniors, and G1 in the same calendar year. I grew up watching the Super Juniors, but the G1 was always a wild dream. I thought I’d maybe get there in five years. I’m in my prime right now, in the best shape I’ve ever been in. The company is putting their trust in me to perform at a high level. I have an opportunity to really shine and bring some attention to New Japan, and that is my mission.”

On changing up his ring style slightly to include more mat-based offense: “My body was worn down. On the independents, I worked, max, four times a week. But here I’m working four, five, or six times a week. I started lifting about ten months ago, and I got stronger. I realized I could pick up these big boys and ground them. That’s what they’d do to me, so now I plan on matching them on the ground.”

On the stakes of the G1 Climax for him: “Imagine if the junior heavyweight champion wins the G1, a tournament full of heavyweights? This tournament is the biggest test of my entire life, and I’ve never been more motivated. My dream is to hold the heavyweight title and the junior heavyweight title at the same time as a double champion.”

On NJPW’s success: “Our company produces the best pro wrestlers in the world. I understand the alternative–if you like WWE, that’s fine–you like the stories. If you like All Elite, you want something different. But New Japan Pro Wrestling is the pinnacle of what pro wrestling should be, and the pro wrestling fans should come and watch because this is the best. I’m not saying that on Twitter to Seth Rollins, I’m literally saying that because I truly believe it in my heart of heart. Every person that is a star in WWE or All Elite Wrestling came from this company. This is where they got good, this is where they applied their trade to make themselves the stars that they are. No one’s leaving anytime soon, we’re all sticking together. Now is the time for us to take center stage and show the world that we are the best professional wrestling company in the world. And right now, I feel like I’m untouchable in the ring. I feel like I can get in there with anyone and bring out their best game. I’m more than ready.”