William Ospreay (May 7, 1993) is an English professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Will Ospreay. He has wrestled for Ring of Honor, Evolve, Impact Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).
Professional wrestling career[]
Early career (2012)[]
Ospreay debuted on April 1, 2012, in the United Kingdom in a four-way match at the BritWres-Fest 2012 event. Debuting as Dark Britannico, he and competitors Metallico and Santeria were defeated by Leon Britannico. He wrestled his next match on 24 June at PROGRESS Wrestling's PROGRESS Chapter Two: The March Of Progress event, where he and Alex Esmail debuted as the tag team The Velocity Vipers. They were defeated by The London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch).
Ospreay made his International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom debut on September 15 at the IPW:UK Samuels vs. Frazier 2012 event where he and Mark Haskins were defeated by Ashley Reed and Paul Robinson in a four-way match. He finished his debut year with two matches during the month of November beginning with a November 10th booking for NWA UK Hammerlock where he defeated Darrell Allen. On November 25 at PROGRESS Chapter Four: The Ballad Of El Ligero Ospreay was defeated by Mark Andrews.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (2016-2024)[]
Ospreay signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and made his debut on April 10, 2016. His debut match was a title shot against KUSHIDA for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship but was defeated by the champion. They had a rematch on June 19 at NJPW Dominion 6.19 In Osaka-Jo Hall but was again defeated by KUSHIDA. On 22 September he had a ROH World Championship match at NJPW Destruction In Hiroshima but was defeated by the defending champion Adam Cole. On October 8th at NJPW New Japan Road ~ Ganbare! Uonuma 2016, Ospreay teamed with Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero to challenge for the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship but were defeated by the champions David Finlay, Ricochet & Satoshi Kojima.
Will Ospreay would start 2019 well and defeat Kota Ibushi for the NEVER Openweight Championship in the opening match of Wrestle Kingdom 13, signifying a potential move to the Heavyweight division.
Ring Of Honor (2016-2017)[]
On November 18, 2016, Ospreay made his Ring of Honor (ROH) debut during the opening night of the ROH Reach For The Sky, where he defeated Bobby Fish to win the ROH World Television Championship. During the second night of the event, he and Marty Scurll challenged for the ROH World Tag Team Championship held by The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) but were defeated. On the third night of the event, Ospreay dropped the World Television title to his tag partner Marty Scurll. On 2 December at ROH Final Battle 2016, Ospreay challenged for a title rematch that included Marty Scurll and third opponent Dragon Lee but Scurll successfully retained the title in this challenge.
As 2017 began, Ospreay joined ROH and NJPW on their joint promotion tours, wrestling matches in Japan, Canada and in the United States.
Personal life[]
William Ospreay was previously in a relationship with female professional wrestler Beatrice Priestley.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Signature moves
- Tag teams and stables
- 2 Guys Hanging Out (w/Chris Sabin)
- Spitfire Britannia (w/Tom Dawkins)
- Velocity Vipers (w/Alex Esmail)
- Swords of Essex
- Birds of Prey (w/ Robbie Eagles)
- CHAOS
- United Empire
- Nicknames
- "The Aerial Assassin"
- "The Commonwealth Kingpin"
- "QuickSilver"
- "The Cat"
- "Sky King"
- "The Assassin"
- Entrance music
Championships and accomplishments[]
- Future Pro Wrestling
- FPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Paul Robinson
- Lucha Britannia
- Lucha Britannia World Championship (2 times)
- Melbourne City Wrestling
- MCW Intercommonwealth Championship (1 time)
- Preston City Wrestling
- PCW 'One to Watch in 2015' End of Year Award (2014)
- PROGRESS Wrestling
- PROGRESS World Championship (1 time)
- PROGRESS Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Paul Robinson
- Super Strong Style 16 (2015)
- Thunderbastard (2014)
- Professional Wrestling Alliance
- PWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #12 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2018
- PWI ranked him #17 in the 2023 PWI Top 500 Wrestlers
- PWI ranked him #3 in the 2024 PWI Top 500 Wrestlers
- Reloaded Championship Wrestling Alliance
- RCWA Elite-1 Championship (1 time)
- Revolution Pro Wrestling
- RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- RevPro British Cruiserweight Championship (2 times)
- RevPro Undisputed British Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Paul Robinson
- Ring of Honor
- ROH World Television Championship (1 time)
- Best Move of the Year (2017) – OsCutter
- SoCal Uncensored
- Match of the Year (2016) with Matt Sydal and Ricochet vs. Adam Cole and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) on September 3
- Southside Wrestling Entertainment
- SWE Speed King Championship (2 times)
- What Culture Pro Wrestling/Defiant Wrestling
- WCPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Scotty Wainwright
- Defiant Wrestling Award for Match of the Year (2017) – vs Drew Galloway on March 6
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- 5 Star Match (2016) with Matt Sydal and Ricochet vs. Adam Cole and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) on 3 September
- 5 Star Match (2017) vs. Kushida on June 3
- 5 Star Match (2018) vs. Marty Scurll on April 1
- 5 Star Match (2018) with Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi on December 15
- 5 Star Match (2019) vs. Bandido on May 23
- 5 3/4 Star Match (2019) vs. Shingo Takagi on June 5
- 5 Star Match (2019) vs. Dragon Lee on June 9
- 5 Star Match (2019) vs. Kota Ibushi on July 18
- 5 3/4 Star Match (2019) vs. Kazuchika Okada on July 20
- 5 1/2 Star Match (2020) vs. Hiromu Takahashi on January 4
- 5 Star Match (2020) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. on February 14
- 5 Star Match (2020) vs. Shingo Takagi on September 27
- Best Flying Wrestler (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
- Best Wrestling Maneuver (2019) Storm Breaker
- Match of The Year (2019) vs. Shingo Takagi on June 5
- Most Outstanding Wrestler (2019)
- Non-Heavyweight MVP (2018, 2019)
- Other titles
- British Triangle Championship (1 time) with Paul Robinson and Scott Wainwright
