NJPW and AEW star Will Ospreay has been awarded with Wrestling Republic’s Men’s Wrestler of the Year Award for 2023.
‘The Aerial Assassin’ Will Ospreay, 30 years old, is undoubtedly one of the most talented competitors to ever step foot inside the squared circle, as well as one of the main faces of the sport during the last couple of years.
While competing in different promotions around the world, Will Ospreay starred many five star classics against opponents the caliber of Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito and ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey to name a few.
Former AEW World Champion MJF and current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth ´Freakin’ Rollins were runners up in this category, which Ospreay ultimately won after a vote conducted by Wrestling Republic’s esteemed voting committee.
The Voting Committee’s Reasonings For The Choice
“Will Ospreay from the beginning of the year till the end was the most consistent performer in wrestling. Not only had he been making headlines in NJPW, he had made his 2024 intentions known as he is signing to the second biggest company in the world,” said Wrestling Republic’s Head Of Reviewing Coby Galenzoski. “Ospreay is a man that elevated and help a large number of people step their games up including Chris Jericho, Taichi, and his own faction members in Mark Davis, Great O’Khan that he had competed against.”
Wrestling Republic’s AEW Reviewer David Sheldon explained he voted for Ospreay as he “was the best male wrestler of 2023 because of his remarkable in ring output, his incredible promo ability and his global appeal. Ospreay wrestled in all manner of venues against all manner of opponents and comfortably had the match of the night every time. No wrestler I can think of has ever performed as consistently strongly as he has across an entire calendar year, and that is testament to his astonishing level of talent.”
Wrestling Republic News Writer & Japanese Wrestling Expert Tomas Gramajo backed this up stating that Ospreay “travelling all over the globe and putting such MOTY caliber performances, while also raising the prestige of the championships he carried is something that only the elite of our sport can do.”
What’s Next For Will Ospreay?
In November 2023 Will Ospreay announced at AEW’s Full Gear Pay-Per-View that he will be leaving NJPW in early 2024, and has agreed terms to sign with Tony Khan’s AEW immediately following his contract expiration. This could mean that in 2024 fans could potentially see Ospreay taking on the likes of MJF, Kenny Omega, Swerve Strickland and Eddie Kingston in AEW.
Undoubtedly, a huge reminder that Will Ospreay will continue to be on the list of the ‘Ones to Watch’ of every pro wrestling fan in 2024.
